Deserving
by The Innocents
Summary: Ranger's past comes back to haunt him as an old enemy targets those he holds most dear. In a battle against time they not only have to deal with a leak within Rangeman, but with threats against Stephanie and Rangers family. NOT CUPCAKE FRIENDLY. A Babe HEA.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Fic so please be nice, I do not own any of the characters written by JE, but those not mentioned in her books are my own.

Chapter 1 – The Package  
(Stephanie's POV)

I tried to prop open my heavy eyelids as I stared at my computer screen, the names and numbers scrolling past all seemed to blur into one. It had been a few weeks since I had started helping out at Rangeman with their searches more permanently, not that I had told them why. Joe and I had finally broken up, forever, and suddenly I had found that I had very little money. I could no longer scrounge from my parents for dinners, as my mother was 'disgraced by my behaviour', and there had been a slight dry spell of skips for me to pick up.

After about a month of living off the last remnants of what was in my bank account and cupboards, I had to swallow my pride and admit defeat. Calling Tank had been embarrassing but he was eager to find someone to do the searches that everyone else deemed too boring, and I fit the criteria. Normally I'd have called Ranger, but I just couldn't answer his questions about why, so I had just avoided him. Gee, I'm so grown up!

I just hadn't wanted to explain that I couldn't even satisfy Joe, and that he had had to go cheat on me to 'get his fix'. I had been returning to his house one evening to break up with him (again) for trying to change me into something I wasn't. Something he had said really got to me, and so I was on a rampage. 'You're not the perfect wife, but I'm prepared to help you become that! All you need to do is quit that stupid Job!' he had said. When I entered the house and found downstairs to be empty (apart from Bob, who was dozing on the couch), I had walked up the stairs, expecting to find Joe in bed. And I did, but not as I had expected, I found him in bed with none other than Terri fucking Gillman!

I had screamed and shouted and may have thrown a few things, before declaring it was over. I also added that if he ever tried it on with me again, I'd tell the whole 'Burg about his cheating habits. As I left I realised this meant I couldn't tell anyone the actual reason for the break up, and my mother called me the next day in disgust. She ranted on and on about how I had just given up my last chance for a happy life in the 'Burg and eventually I just left the phone on the counter and let her talk herself out. Not ideal, I know, but it seemed to work as she hadn't called me since... And that was coming up to two months ago. I shouldn't be pleased with that, but it was actually a major relief to not be hearing 'Mrs Lombardi's daughter doesn't embarrass her like this' all the time.

I was brought back to the present from my internal musings by the loud slamming of a door. Looking around my small cubicle, I checked my search had not found anything yet, and entered the Rangeman floor. My eyes were immediately drawn to a cluster of the guys around the control room door, so I walked over to see what the commotion was about.

Lester quickly greeted me, looking uncomfortable. 'Hey Beautiful! What you doing out here?'

'What's going on Les?' I asked, my eyes searching his face,

'Oh not much...' Lester started, but then a loud crash sounded from further along the corridor and everyone turned in shock, of course I was the only one to jump out of my skin.

More crashes followed the first one, and I realised the noise were coming from Rangers office.

'Lester! What's happening?' I hissed as Tank ran to Rangers office and started hammering on the door, yelling for him to open up.

'Ranger, well, he received a package in the mail... I don't know what was in it.' Lester mumbled, staring at his boss' door.

'Well something tells me it wasn't flowers!' I shot at him, stalking towards Rangers office and Tank, who was still thumping his huge fist against the door. I couldn't believe it hadn't broken already from the amount of force Tank was putting into his 'knocks'.

'Ranger! Man! Let me the hell in! What the fuck is going on? Hey, stop trashing your office!'

Tank then jumped back in surprise as something hit the door from the other side and shattered.

'Hey! Don't throw shit at me! What the hell is happening?' He thundered.

'Tank, what's happened? What could possibly get him into such a state?' I yelled over the crescendo of breaking objects. But then, as soon as it started, the noise stopped.

'Steph, I think he just stopped because of you...' Tank murmured to me, so Ranger wouldn't be able to hear, then almost too quietly for me to hear, I heard to lock click. 'Steph, go in!'

'What if he doesn't want me to? It could be a coincidence you know!' I whispered back, doubt creeping into my mind.

'He heard you and opened the door Little Girl! Get in there!' Tank replied and I knew I had to go in, because I knew Ranger would at least do that for me.

As I opened his office door I took in the carnage in front of me, stepping over the broken glass at the doorway I edged into the centre of the room. I couldn't help but be taken aback by the amount of mess Ranger had managed to create in such a small amount of time; paintings were ripped from the walls, their glass shattered. His brand new laptop was ripped apart and had obviously been flung at a wall. The only thing in the room that had remained untouched was a cardboard box in the middle of the desk. I was also surprised to find Ranger sat, in the corner of the room, with his head in his hands.

'What's going on Ranger?' I asked gently, kneeling down in front of him,

'Babe.' Was his simple response, but in that one word I could hear all of his feelings of worry, anger and despair.

'Ranger, please talk to me...' I tried again, but he remained silent, face still hidden in his hands. I rose and took a step towards his desk and the box on it, and he let out a muffled groan.

'Don't look in that Babe; it's not something you want to see.' But I just couldn't help myself, if he wasn't giving me answers I'd have to find them myself! I took the lid of the box, and stumbled backwards as if I had been hit in the chest. Inside the box there was what seemed like hundreds of pictures of me. There was me and Ranger, me and Joe, me and Mary-Lou, Lula, Connie, My parents, Val... It seemed that this person had followed me around for months and taken pictures of everything I had done. Thinking about it I realised the last time I had taken Mary-Alice and Angie to the park was about three months ago. A shiver ran down my spine as a picked up yet another picture, this one was of me, in my apartment, in bed, fast asleep. This creep had stood over me while I slept. I suppressed a sob as I fell to the floor, throwing the picture away from me in revulsion.

I quickly felt warm arms wrap around me, as Ranger pulled me in to his side. 'I'm so sorry Babe.' He murmured into my hair as I leant against his chest, tears leaking from my eyes. 'It appears you have another stalker.'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This is my first Fic so please be nice, I do not own any of the characters written by JE, but those not mentioned in her books are my own.  
Also Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favourite'd, followed and read my work. It is so exciting to know that people are enjoying my ideas! (& to those who sent me reviews who I replied to, I am sorry for misspelling 'once', my laptop thought it would be fun to autocorrect that to 'one', which was a bit strange!)  
Lastly I feel I should explain my new character in this chapter, I tried it out with Julie, but since I live in England and cannot access any JE books other than the ones I own, I was too worried I would make a mistake about the facts JE states in the books, and also I felt Julie didn't quite fit this characters part, being so young. Hope you enjoy

Chapter 2 – More surprises  
(Ranger's POV)

A quiet knock sounded at the door and I suppressed a growl. Did they not understand we needed to be left alone?

'Why the hell do I have to be on front desk when this shit happens?' I heard the disgruntled voice of Manny.

'Report.' I barked, realising something else had happened... Shit. What now?

'Sir, there's another box. We scanned it, it's safe.' Manny stated nervously.

'Bring it in. NOW!' I grated out. What the hell could this box hold? I stood, leaving Steph sat on the floor staring into space. I ruffled her hair, and the look she gave me almost broke my heart, she seemed so shattered and scared. 'It's going to be okay Babe, I'll keep you safe. I promise.' I murmured to her softly

I lifted the lid off the new box that Manny had left on my desk, and my heart stopped. Inside were more pictures, pictures of my youngest sister, pictures of Sammy. 'FUCK!' I roared. Rage boiling up inside me, I felt my fist connect to my office wall, but no pain registered. Then I felt a cold hand pulling me back, and I remembered Steph was still in the room. Forcing myself back into control, I reined in my anger. 'I'm sorry Babe; I didn't mean to scare you.' I muttered, the anger inside me still bubbling up, just under the surface.

There were just so many pictures, with her friends, with my parents, with me. I groaned, she had been with ME! I hadn't seen this guy taking pictures of us! I couldn't believe I had messed up this bad. Some random guy had been taking pictures of my little Sammy and I hadn't noticed! Way to be aware of your surroundings Ranger. I knew beating myself up would get us no-where, but I couldn't help but be astonished at this guy's level of courage and skill.

A white piece of paper caught my eye on the inside of the box lid, and I pulled it out to read. Horror crossed my features as I read the first contact from this maniac.

'Ranger. By the time you have read this I'm sure you will have realised that I have been following your beloved Stephanie and Samia for a little while. I could have had them whenever I wanted, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.

The all powerful Ranger. How does it feel to be powerless now?

I suppose you're wondering why I'm doing this? Well. You don't deserve these people in your life. You don't DESERVE a family and people to love you.

How many families have you torn apart? You don't deserve to have these people, and I will right this wrong. I will take away everything you hold dear, because you deserve nothing less than hell.

See you there.'

I felt revulsion run through my body, as I thrust the note back into the box. I knew full well that I didn't deserve these wonderful people around me, but now they were in danger from some psychopath. I knew I had to keep them safe, no matter what, because I don't deserve them and I had put them in danger just by being near them, by caring for them. He had chosen to target those who are most vulnerable and innocent. God why can't he just go for me instead? I prayed to God that Julie lived far enough away to escape this creep's reaches, or even better, his notice.

Stephanie's POV

I stood shakily as Ranger opened the second box, dreading what it may hold, praying that it was nothing serious. I had received enough body parts in the post to last me a life time thank you very much! I almost sighed in relief when I saw it was just more photos, so what if this guy had been following me even longer? I thought.

I was shaken from my relief by Ranger punching the wall and I pulled him back quickly, muttering to him to calm down or he would hurt himself. But then the world stood still as I realised the pictures in the box were not of me, but a girl who looked about 17 years old. In the back of my mind I heard Ranger speaking, but I wasn't listening, I was too terrified for the poor girl who had found herself in this freak's interest. She was tall and tanned, but nowhere near as dark skinned as Ranger, she had deep red-brown hair and in the close up shots you could see brilliant khaki green eyes, that shone with happiness and youth. I couldn't move I was frozen to the spot staring into the girl's eyes; they were so full of hope. She didn't need to live in fear of this guy; she was too young to have to deal with these things. Finally I found myself looking up at Ranger who was staring at a note, his hands shook with barely contained anger and I involuntarily took a step back.

This seemed to snap Ranger back into reality, as he shoved the note away from him, as if it had bitten him.

'Who is she?' I whispered hoarsely, I hadn't noticed I was crying until now.

'My sister, Samia, my Sammy, she's so young...' Ranger replied, his face filled with anguish, then all of a sudden his mask fell into place and there were no more emotions to be seen. 'Don't worry Steph, I'll keep you safe, I'll keep you both safe. He is going to regret even looking at you.' He stated coldly, the anger inside him seemed to have been pushed back into the corner of his mind. This was Ranger on a mission.

'Ranger, she's not safe. Wherever she is, she needs to be here.' I spoke urgently, panic in my voice. She could be anywhere, he could already have her! Oh my god what if he already has her! I might be next! Oh my god!

My internal monologue was broken by Ranger who put his hands either side of my face and tilted it up to look into his eyes. 'I'm going to call her now, calm down Steph, I'm sure she will be fine.' He said, but I could see the worry darting through his eyes. He stepped out of the office and started barking orders about fingerprinting and other such forensic measures I would never understand. I felt so dazed, nothing seemed that real to me, maybe if I just pinched myself I'd wake up and this wouldn't have happened. That girl with the brilliant eyes would be safe...

I was once again snapped out of my monologue, but this time by Tank who seemed to be hugging me awkwardly, patting me on the back. I shook my head to clear it, and hugged him back.

'Thanks Big Guy, I needed that. Has Ranger heard from his sister?' I smiled to him, hoping he wouldn't see the tears in my eyes.

'Yeah, he's talking to her now, she's safe. He will probably go pick her up soon, since she's finished high school now anyway.' Tank reassured me,

'I want to go too!' I yelped, going to run from the room until a large arm snagged me and pulled me back. 'Let me go Tank!' I hissed, kicking and squirming as much as I could

'The boss might not want you to leave Little Girl; I'm not letting you run out on me!' He commanded simply. I groaned and stopped fighting so he would put me down; I knew I wouldn't win against a determined Tank. Thankfully, this is when Ranger re-entered the room and drew me into his arms, holding me against his sculpted chest and inhaling the scent of my hair.

'I'm so sorry you got caught up in this Babe, but you need to know my main priority is keeping you safe? Ok?' He whispered in this, remorse filling his voice. But I felt annoyance bubble up inside me.

'Don't tell me, you want to lock me up somewhere to keep me safe? And you will go off and hunt this guy down. Leave me worrying all day about what's happening? Is this how this is going to go?' I hissed accusingly, anger flashing before my eyes as I stared at his face. Then an emotion crossed his face that I had never seen before, confusion.

'No Babe, I'm not going to leave you. This guy is dangerous, and the only person I'll trust to keep you both safe is myself. I'm not going to lock you away, not when you need me.' As he spoke I saw the truth in his eyes and I smiled.

'Thank you Batman, but that was quite a speech! Are you feeling okay?' I teased, trying to lighten to mood a bit. 'What happens now?'

'Now we go get my sister and I keep you both safe. Are you ready to meet my family Babe?' He asked, and could I detect nervousness in his voice? I didn't blame him! I messed everything up; I bet he was just wondering whether it would be safe to introduce me to his family in case I blew something up.

'Those are dark thoughts Babe.' Ranger said, smiling. Damn ESP. 'I'm just worried about pulling this off, it's going to be fine.' He continued, pulling me towards the stairs to go to the garage. I couldn't help but chuckle, he still didn't know me that well, as I pulled him to the elevator instead, surprisingly he didn't resist or call me out on it. Wow he must be freaked out! When we arrived in the garage he blipped open the black SUV, and held the passenger door open for me. I slipped into the seat and he closed my door, jogging around to the driver's side door. He was like a different person to the rage filled man I had stood in the office with earlier, and I must say I preferred this Ranger totally! I didn't blame him for losing control though, but it surprised me, he was always the master of control. All of a sudden my internal musings were interrupted by a very unladylike noise from my stomach; think a hippo that hasn't been fed for a week. That kind of noise. Ranger chuckled and told me he would feed the beast as soon as we picked up Sam, and I settled back into my seat, needing a bit of recovery time from the shocks I had received today.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is my first Fic so please be nice, I do not own any of the characters written by JE, but those not mentioned in her books are my own.

Chapter 3 – Meeting the family  
(Stephanie's POV)

I stirred from my deep sleep as I felt the car turn off, I was contemplating the pro's and con's of opening my eyes when I felt Ranger give my leg a gentle shake. Forcing my eyes open I gave him a quick smile to show I was alright, and found liquid brown eyes clouded with concern gazing at me.

'Babe, you slept all the way here. Are you alright? How do you feel?' He questioned gently, the concern in his eyes translated into his soft deep voice.

'Yeah, I'm okay.' I replied 'Just tired I guess...'

Suddenly there was a sharp tap at the window which made me jump and Ranger pull his guy, turning to the window with fear in my eyes I saw...

'SANTOS!' Ranger thundered.

'Sorry Boss, I didn't mean to scare Steph; I was just wondering what was taking so long.' Lester replied, scanning the street carefully. 'It's all clear out here by the way.' He continued, smiling guiltily at me. I started to get out of the car but Ranger stilled me almost instantly, I smiled to myself as he rounded the car and opened the door for me once again, I could get used to this!

'How come Lester is here?' I questioned Ranger, worried his whole family might be there.

'You think I'm taking you anywhere without back up?' Ranger murmured in my ear with amusement at my naivety. 'By the way, please call me Carlos in front of my family. They never were fond of nicknames.'

'Sure thing... Carlos.' I said, smiling at the way his name felt on my lips, like it belonged there.

I finally looked up at the house we were parked at, it was a simple detached house with a modest front garden and beautiful flower bushes. It was obviously well kept and it just screamed a happy family home. The door swung open and we were greeted by a gentle looking couple, with huge smiles on their faces, and I felt they fit the image of the house perfectly. The woman was wearing an apron, white shirt and gentle pink skirt, and the man was wearing simple brown trousers and a white shirt, they looked loving and wholesome.

'Mamá, Papi, this is Stephanie.' Ranger declared, smiling as he introduced me 'Stephanie, these are my parents, Ricardo and María.'

'It's a pleasure to meet you.' I said, 'Burg manners coming through.

'I assure you Estefania, the pleasure is ours!' Rangers father, Ricardo replied in a heavily accented voice. 'It's good to see you too Carlos.' He continued, turning his warm gaze to his son.

'It's so lovely to finally meet you chica!' María smiled to me, drawing my hands into her own, 'I wondered how much longer I would have to wait until I could meet the woman who has tamed the men of Rangeman.' She said with mirth, 'Now come inside mi hijo, and be comfortable. Would you like a drink?' (My child)

I couldn't help but be struck by the open kindness and warmness that Ranger's family had shown to me. They had welcomed me as one of their own immediately, and you could feel the love in the room as we sat drinking ice cold water.

'Papi, we have some bad news,' Ranger began gently, but was interrupted almost immediately by his father.

'Do not worry Carlos, Lester called ahead to warn us of the danger, we are fully informed.' He let out a sad smile. 'Go find her, she is out back.'

As we stood María stood too, she gently touched my shoulder and held out a small necklace pendant. 'It is a good luck charm,' She whispered to me as I felt warmth wash over me at her kind gesture. 'You stay safe, try to keep in touch. I will be praying for you.' She smiled again and disappeared into the kitchen without saying another word. I slipped her charm into my pocket and followed Ranger outside.

There was a long garden behind the house, surrounded by an ancient stone wall and filled with colourful flower beds, at one side was a swing set and a slide which made me smile, perhaps Ranger had little nephews and nieces. The thought of mini Rangers had me grinning like a fool, so I suppressed the thought and let my eyes explore the garden further. At the end of the garden was a wrought iron gate, and beyond that a huge expanse of woodland. Ranger had already started along the cobbled path leading down the garden towards the gate, so I hurried to catch him up. He smiled when he saw me and wrapped a hand protectively around my waist. We reached the gate and I looked around the dense forest.

'She could be anywhere.' I sighed, my eyes searching for movement, Ranger just shot me a knowing smile and let out a low whistle. His smile widened when he heard the whistle returned a few seconds later, from not too far to our right. We waited for a few minutes and soon my ears picked up the sound of rustling leaves as Samia emerged from the trees. As she approached a huge grin split her face as she took us both in.

'Carlos! Stephanie! Hey!' She called out, jogging the last few metres and throwing herself into her big brothers arms. While she was lean and tall, she was still totally dwarfed by her sibling. 'Stephanie! It's wonderful to meet you! My god I've waited for this long enough!' She cried, embracing me tightly before letting me go and holding me at arm's length. 'My god, Lester wasn't lying! You really are a beautiful thing!'

'Lester always was too complimentary.' I mumbled; blush rising up my face quickly.

'Nonsense! Anyway to what do I owe the honour of this visit?' She questioned merrily,

'Samia, I'm sorry but this isn't a leisurely visit.' Ranger started, keeping his arm around my waist and slinging an arm around her shoulders. He led us off to the left somewhere and soon the trees broke and we were stood on the edge of a huge cliff, with a stunning view of another town.

'What's happened...? Whatever Celia told you it isn't even true! She has it in for me lately!' Samia began grumbling. I suppressed a smile at the sibling rivalry on show here, it felt like I was back at home with Valerie ratting me out for not cleaning my room.

'Nothing like that Sammy,' Ranger said smiling, 'although I'm sure whatever she is saying is totally true.'

'Have you no faith in me?' Samia shot back, grinning back at Ranger and sitting down on the ground. I found myself immediately follow suit, and Ranger eased himself down between us.

'Look Sam, we have a problem... A major problem actually. Someone seems to have been following you, and taking pictures. I received a box of them today...'

'Ugh! I bet I look awful in them too! Why does no one respect my non-makeup privacy?' Samia moaned immediately. I couldn't hold my giggle in that was what she was worried about? She reminded me of myself so soon... Making light of the situation without even thinking about it.

'Sammy, this is serious! This guy has followed you for months. I'm worried he is going to hurt you. He's done the same to Stephanie, you're both in danger.' Ranger continued, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in. 'But don't worry, I'll keep you safe, would you come stay with me and Stephanie? Please?' Samia looked up at him and grinned, but beneath the grin you could see fear in her eyes

'Ok, but only because you said please.' She teased, leaning her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. The same as I did when fighting to keep in tears, Ranger's ESP seemed in tune, as he pulled his little sister into his arms and started to murmur to her in Spanish softly. After a minute or two she seemed to have recovered as she stood and we started to walk back to the house, arms tightly wrapped around each other. I knew from this point on, that I would do anything to keep that girl safe, and so would Ranger. We re-entered the house as one unit, and María smiled widely at us.

'I understand you are to go away for a little while Samia.' She spoke gently, smiling softly at us all. 'Now I know it isn't always possible, but you try to keep in touch niño. Te amo!' She hugged Samia tightly and then pushed her towards the stairs. 'Go pack!' (Child. I love you)

Samia hurried upstairs and returned within twenty minutes with a small suitcase bulging with clothes. Smiling at me she beckoned and I followed her upstairs, into a small room with gentle cream coloured walls and brightly coloured ornaments scattered about the place. 'I've packed clothes for nearly every situation I can think of. And I have all the essentials, but I just wanted you to look around and see if I'm missing anything.' She grinned as her face became a little red at her admission. 'I always seem to forget something really important.' I wandered around her room, checking she had a hair brush, her makeup etc... Finally when I went to the bathroom I found what she was missing. I returned holding up a toothbrush triumphantly and she burst out laughing. 'See! It's always something really obvious that I miss!' As I was about to leave the room to walk back downstairs, she called me back. 'Stephanie!'

'Yeah?' I replied, smiling to myself as I turned back.

'I'm... Uh, well... I'm glad you're here' She stumbled haltingly over her words, her face reddening as she scratched the back of her head and stared at the floor. 'What I mean is... I'm glad to meet you. And uh...You're not going to go anywhere are you?' Samia questioned, her eyes rising to meet mine, concern in them.

'I'm not going anywhere while this guy is still out there Sammy.' I replied, walking forward to give her a hug.

'I just, Carlos doesn't always understand what I'm feeling. It would be nice to have a girl around,' She said, chewing her lip as she spoke.

'Hey, I'm not abandoning you with all the Rangemen!' I chuckled, 'Don't worry. I know exactly what you're feeling. I'll be here for you. Okay?' I smoothed her hair down and she grinned.

'Okay, good. Cos' otherwise I'd have to hunt you down.' She joked and took the toothbrush from my hands, walking back downstairs to pack it in her suitcase. I followed her down shining, realising that me and Sammy had really gotten on well and hopefully we would continue to. Ranger's parents has also been so kind and welcoming, I couldn't help but love his family. They were just as a family should be, loving, accepting and open.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: This is my first Fic so please be nice, I do not own any of the characters written by JE, but those not mentioned in her books are my own.

Chapter 3 – Back to Rangeman  
Stephanie's POV

As we arrived back at Rangeman I was amazed Ranger hadn't lost his temper at Sammy and me constantly jabbering. It felt like we had known each other forever and gossip was quickly exchanged, much to Ranger's displeasure. He kept sending dark glances in my direction and at one point I swear I heard him muttering under his breath. Nevertheless I soon found that Sammy has a very similar outlook on life, and an incredibly similar temperament and amount of luck. We quickly exchanged stories of ending up rolling around in garbage (her due to sneaking out at night and trying to avoid Ranger catching her), and we laughed our whole way back.

When we finally did arrive back, my stomach let loose a fearsome growl and Samia burst out laughing while staring at me.

'Is that even humanly possible? To make that much noise?' She grinned as I stared at my stomach in shock, I poked it and it growled again and we both dissolved into fits of giggles. Ranger sitting next to me groaned at rested his head against the steering wheel. As we all boarded the elevator, Ranger took us directly up to 7, where there was already a large meal set out on the table, thank goodness for Ella! We ate and laughed some more for a while until Ranger got a call on his cell, he excused himself to take it, so Samia and I went to raid the kitchen in hope of pudding. To our delight we found a plate of cookies and were tucking in when Ranger re-entered the room.

'I have to go, the core team is having a meeting about this sh-stuff.' Ranger told us

'You know, I'm old enough to hear swearwords now brother.' Sammy gently teased as Ranger started walking towards the door which was being knocked on incessantly. As he opened the door someone barrelled past his and scooped Samia up grinning.

'BAM!' Lester yelling, hugging her tightly and spinning her around

'Hey Les! You alright?' She laughed, pushing away from him for him to put her down.

'Yeah, I just got back from Manny, no fingerprints boss.' Lester said, setting her down and turning to Ranger looking grim.

'Damn.' Ranger muttered, 'I'd hoped there'd be at least one, on one of the pictures... There are so many!'

'Never mind! I'm sure he will slip up soon.' Sammy said, smiling up at Ranger and he kissed her on the top of the head.

'I'm sure he will Bam. You stay up here with Stephanie okay?' He said, hugging her gently and turning to me.

'How are you doing?' he asked my gently, taking my hand and leading me to the sofa, as Lester and Sammy went to the kitchen for more cookies.

'I don't think its hit me yet to be honest. I just hate that this guy has gone after Sammy, she's so nice.' I replied, drawing my knees up to my chest. Ranger pulled me into his chest and stroked my hair.

'I'll keep you both safe Steph, I promise you I will.' He murmured gently, still holding me. I couldn't help but feel so safe and content in his strong arms, and I knew I needed to shake this feeling soon, or I was going to do something I'd regret. Steeling myself, I reminded myself that Ranger doesn't do relationships and that he's just protecting my like always I pulled out of his arms.

'I'm fine. It's not like this is the first time its happened to me is it?' I joked, smiling at him, then pushing him away 'you have a meeting to go to you know? You're keeping everyone waiting!'

'They'll wait Babe.' He said, an almost smile curling his lips slightly. He pulled me in one last time and I allowed myself a few seconds of closing my eyes and pretending I never had to move, before standing up and tugging his arm up too.

'C'mon Ranger, they're all waiting for you!' I commanded in my best ordering about voice, just as Lester re entered from the kitchen, brushing crumbs from his top into his hand, and pouring them into Sammy's head.

'Lester! What the hell!' She yelled, turning to him with her hands on her hips. 'I'll have to go shower now you idiot!' her eyes narrowing as Lester just grinned at her mischievously. She slapped his arm and disappeared towards the bathroom, where I could see her trying to shake her hair out.

'Harsh Lester!' I pointed out, raising my eyebrows at him. He just shrugged,

'Bam would only let me have one biscuit. There's a whole plate in there!' He grumbled, unable to wipe the grin off his face. 'I'm glad she's here Ranger...' He started 'It's been way too long since the guys saw her.' Ranger quite simply nodded and they both walked towards the door, to join the others for their meeting, once again leaving Sammy and I alone.

'Why was Lester calling you Bam?' I asked her, sitting down on the sofa with a bottle of water,

'Well. When I was a baby, my first word was Bam. I'd sneak up behind people and yell it to try to scare them... I guess the name stuck, when Ranger formed Rangeman and I came to visit, Lester told everyone about why Ranger was so aware of his surroundings and the name stuck.' She grinned, obviously reliving the memory in her mind. 'It's been a while since I've been here. We hardly hear from Carlos... Or Ranger... Whoever he is!' She said with a slight note of melancholy in her voice as she stared at her hands.

'I'm sure he misses you. He just lives a very dangerous life.' I said, 'I hope you don't take this the wrong way... But you don't look much like Ranger.' I ventured, her skin was about 10 shades paler and her green eyes and red/brown hair just didn't match him at all, I couldn't help but wonder if she wore contacts... It was hard to believe they were related if you didn't see how they acted together.

'Ah, that's because we're not biologically related.' She said, smiling at me gently, but I could tell she was gnawing on the inside of her cheek.

'We don't have to talk about this, if it makes you uncomfortable,' I started, worried

'No, it's fine!' She said 'I'm just surprised he didn't tell you on the way or something.'

'I may have slept...'I said, and we both smiled, 'So what do you mean?'

'The Manoso family adopted me, when I was about 2 years old.' Samia started, standing up to look out of the window. 'I was out on a walk with my parents, when... Well, we were in the middle of 'Gang land' if you like, and obviously we had no idea... They were involved in a drive by shooting.' She said quietly, wringing her hands together and still staring out of the window. I quickly stood to hug her; this poor girl had been through enough as it is! 'Rangers, I mean, my Mama, she came running out and threw herself over me to save me. I just so happened to be outside their house... Old house, that is. At the time...' She said, and I could feel her sigh gently against me. 'They fought long and hard and finally, they adopted me. I remember nothing of it, but I'm so thankful. Mama held my parents hands as they died, they had comfort. I'll always be grateful for that.' She murmured, leaning her head against me. 'They moved house within a week of being able to adopt me, and we settled down to our 'new life' if you like'.

'I'm so sorry.' I whispered, feeling tears roll down my cheeks at this poor girl, losing her parents before she even had the chance to make memories with them, it seemed so cruel.

'Don't be.' She said, looking at me and smiling a little. 'I found a new family, who are wonderful and kind. Who knows what the future might have held, but as far as I'm concerned, my life is good and I am very lucky. I'm so lucky I don't remember it, I think.' I couldn't help but be blown away by this girl's optimism and acceptance of what had happened, but then she had been living with it for all these years.

'How many siblings do you have? Other than Ranger?' I asked, hoping to change to a brighter topic.

'There are 6 of us, 4 girls and 2 boys.' She said, laughing 'We always outnumbered the lads. There's Celia, Adriana, Lorena and Me for the girls, and Carlos and Mateo. Celia is the oldest and bossiest!'

'I have an older sister too, her names Valerie. She's practically perfect in every way.' I told Sammy, rolling my eyes. Sammy just grinned at me in a knowing way, and I was sure she got ratted out for everything she did wrong too. It must be hard being the youngest of six. 'So how do the ages go?' I asked, wondering if Ranger had ever been ordered around by anyone, as he was definitely younger than Celia.

'It goes Celia, Carlos, Adriana, Lorena, Mateo and then me.' She said, laughing 'But you wouldn't have known it, as bossy as Celia is, she never tried it with Carlos.'

'Ah, I can't imagine Carlos being bossed around.' I replied, grinning again at the sound of Rangers real name.

We continued to talk for a while about pretty much everything until we heard the door re-open and keys being deposited in the dish near the door, I felt my body instantly relax when I saw Ranger walk in, smiling gently at us and sitting in between me and Sammy, he put his arms around us and pulled us both in to a tight hug. I had never felt so safe in my life.

Ranger's POV

As I walked down to the meeting, I felt dread building up in my stomach, I had been trying to not think about what happened, but I couldn't help but blame myself for this. As the guy had said, I didn't deserve these wonderful people in my life.

The elevator arrived and Lester and I stepped off, joining the rest of the team in the conference room. The first part of the meeting passed quickly, we reviewed the new contract workers we had brought in a few weeks ago, and discussed the possible need for more, as the man power required to keep Stephanie and Samia safe might continue for a while. I stressed the need to check every worker we brought in but I didn't think this guy was stupid enough to hand us his name on a silver platter, or rather, an application form. Conversation soon turned to the pictures and Tank dropped a bombshell on me.

'Ranger, we have found tiny holes in the corners of some, and blu-tack on the back of others. I think this guy kept these pictures up on his wall; I asked Hal if he could figure out the oldest picture, it was printed 4 months ago. It's one of you and her.' He stated emotionlessly.

I snarled unintentionally, Sammy and Steph had become some freak shows wall paper. I was pleased to see similar reactions of disgust on the rest of the team's faces; I knew I could at least trust these men, and a few others in Rangeman. I mentally started listing those I trusted with Stephanie and my sisters life, and found the list was rather short, at least I knew I could trust myself, and I wasn't leaving their sides if I could help it.

The meeting finished soon afterwards, with no one really sure how to catch this man other than staying vigilant and trying to catch him in the act. I couldn't believe how smooth this guy was, the post office couldn't remember what he looked like other than male and about 6 foot tall. No idea of a hair colour, skin colour. The only thing they could add was that his voice had made their skin crawl. How helpful! My anger at this guy mounted with every passing hour. My team are the best there is, and somehow he eludes us, evading our grasp so easily, I couldn't understand it.

As soon as the meeting was over I went to see Ella in her apartment, warning her not to go anywhere without a Rangeman bodyguard. I didn't want to take any chances with anyone, especially not Ella who is so innocent, open and loving. I also asked for some food to be brought up for me, Steph, Sammy and whoever else turns up on my apartment doorstep to see my baby sister. This made Ella laugh and proclaim I was outnumbered and she would make unhealthy food for the girls. I didn't argue, I couldn't deny those two anything; especially not now I had put them in such awful danger.

I took the elevator up to 7, letting myself in and dropping the keys in the bowl as always. I could feel Steph watching me, so I looked up and smiled at her. She and Sammy were obviously getting on well; I wished I had introduced the two craziest females in my life earlier. I should have known they'd be best of friends. I hugged them both close and found myself smelling Steph's hair appreciatively, she always smelt so wonderful and fresh to me.

I heard a knock on the door and knew that word would have spread around Rangeman by now that Sammy was here, so I walked to the door to let in her welcoming committee and was almost swept away by the flood of my men coming to see my sister. Let the circus begin.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – The Party  
Ranger's POV

I stepped aside to allow my men to enter the apartment. Not one acknowledged me; they were all too fixed on seeing Sammy and I didn't really mind. Bringing up the rear was Ella and Lester, arms laden with food they both shot me a quick smile before disappearing into the kitchen. I couldn't help but chuckle at how Sammy was such a huge part of Rangeman, even though she hadn't been there for so long. I followed Lester into the kitchen and groaned at the sight of all the unhealthy party food, he was setting it out on platters while practically salivating. There was pizza, sandwiches, tarts, skewers, cakes, chocolate and ice cream. I frowned when I looked for Ella and found she had disappeared, so I walked into the living room to find her hanging up decorations and blowing up balloons.

'Defacing my living room and my men's bodies Ella?' I asked and raised my eyebrows as she simply smirked at me, I turned to look for Steph and saw her happily chatting away with Bobby and so I walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder.

'Having fun Babe?' I murmured in her ear, and felt her shiver beneath my touch.

'Yeah, but I'm starving!' She replied, turning to me as Bobby walked over towards the large crowd, which I assumed Sammy was in the middle of.

'You won't be for long; Ella has prepared the unhealthiest feast I have ever laid eyes on.' I said, smiling internally at the excitement clearly displayed across her face.

'You don't pay that woman enough!' She exclaimed wandering to the kitchen to check out what food was available; I followed out of instinct, feeling my body being drawn towards her as ever. I wondered what it was about her that always made me move towards her, I couldn't count the amount of times I had sat in her apartment just to be near her. Or sat in the parking lot in my car just staring at her window, she had such a calming influence on me. I was wrenched from my train of thought by my cell phone buzzing, so I stepped into my office and answered sharply.

Sammy's POV

I looked up at the door being opened, and laughed at the mass of my second family flooding into the room, I ran up to them and hugged each of them tightly, hardly hearing their greetings as I was passed from one to the other. When I reached the back of the group, I smiled at Hector who had obviously hung back and threw my arms around him, startling him slightly.

'Hola Hector!' I grinned, drawing back and tilting my head

'Cómo estás?' He asked, and I smiled, realising he was still speaking Spanish and pretending he didn't know English.

'Soy bueno!' I laughed, turning to the rest of my family.

'Thanks for coming guys, it's really kind! But we all know that you're here for the food, as Ella seems to have a death wish and has brought unhealthy food into Ranger's temple.' They all laughed and we swarmed towards to kitchen, catching Stephanie in our tidal wave I dragged her towards the table laden with food, but I didn't miss the fact that Ranger was missing and Stephanie was staring towards the office door. I just hoped nothing else had gone wrong. I soon forgot my worries when I saw the plethora of food spread around the kitchen. We dug in and after about 10 minutes, Ranger rejoined us and I couldn't help but notice that he seemed really cheerful, obviously nothing bad had happened. Ella disappeared into the kitchen when we had all finished eating, and I followed her to help with the washing up and thank her for the party, but found her on the phone looking worried.

'What's wrong Ella?' I asked, feeling Ranger and Stephanie enter the room behind me.

'Ranger, you need to go to your office, we left Hal and a contract worker on front desk, Hal fell asleep so the contract worker received a package for you. He did all the average checks to make sure it was safe, but he doesn't know what's happening, he's left it in your office.'

'Did he get a good look at the deliverer?' Ranger asked, turning into business mode immediately.

'It was an average postal worker again, but we will ask them if they remember anything later.' She replied, looking intensely sadly at me and Steph.

'Go get 'em brother.' I piped up, intent on lightening the mood slightly, before returning to the living room to my family.

Stephanie's POV

I touched Ranger's arm, feeling terror well up inside me and he pulled me into his arms. I bit my lip as I squeezed into him tightly, and I heard Ella leave the room, leaving us alone in the kitchen. I felt him stroking my hair, and I felt so at home in his arms.

'Babe, whatever it is, it can wait.' He whispered into my hair, his fingers moving to my back to rub calming circles. I couldn't force myself to open my eyes and move, I just wanted to shut out reality and forget for a while. I hardly noticed Ranger manoeuvring me towards his home office and onto the sofa. I faintly heard him speaking to Lester, saying it had all caught up with me and that I needed to rest. There was me thinking I had coped really well. I sunk into the soft, cool leather and shivered slightly as it hit my skin. Ranger sat next to me and I snuggled up to him and his warmth and found myself drifting off to sleep.

I awoke about an hour later; feeling more collected and heard voices around me. I cursed Ranger for being so toned; he had been a very hard and muscular pillow, leaving me with a bit of a neck cramp. I kept my eyes closed so that I could continue my eavesdropping,

'I don't like the sound of this note man.' Lester continued, 'He seems to think he has something on us.'

'Well he doesn't' I heard Cal answer, annoyance obvious from his tone

'Listen to it! Rangeman isn't as safe as you think! He's confidant!' Lester answered, ranting slightly.

'Maybe he's just trying to spook us. He's just bluffing.' Cal argued back

'Then how the hell were these pictures taken? You may not have noticed but this is INSIDE Rangeman!' I heard the shuffling of paper and a few angry voices mixed together, finally Ranger spoke up.

'We will discuss this further later. He can't be inside Rangeman, it's simply not possible.' I took this as my cue to wake up, so I opened my eyes and flexed my arms just as most of the guys left, Lester caught my eye and winked and I immediately went bright red, realising my head had been resting in Rangers lap while all the men had been standing there.

'I can hear the cogs turning Babe.' Ranger said, his voice soft and gentle which surprised me, I went to sit up to avoid further embarrassment but he pulled me back to him again, 'Don't go Babe.' I felt my heart jump, how long had I longed to hear those words, I cursed the circumstances for forcing me to hear them in a totally different way to how I imagined. I knew that as I went to sleep that night those words would be replaying over and over in my head. 'Babe, not only can I hear cogs turning, there's actually smoke coming out of your ears.' Ranger joked, startling me more.

'What's put you in such a good mood?' I replied, rubbing my eyes and looking at him, finding his eyes shining with happiness. 'I thought I heard something about a leak.'

'Ah Babe, we have nothing to worry about right now, he has some pictures of the building, but they could have easily been taken through the windows. My men have a tendency to overreact.' Ranger suddenly touched my cheek, frowning. 'Were you crying?'

'What? No?' I answered, reaching up and touching my face to find it damp. 'Or maybe I was?'

'Babe, you had an emotional overload. It's okay to cry.' He pulled me upright and into his lap, he felt so warm, comforting and soothing. I had to put a stop to this soon before I got too involved and got my heart broken.

'Talk to me, what are these new photo's?' I finally asked, breaking the silent spell.

'Here.' Ranger said, reaching around me to take them from the table, they included pictures of most of the office rooms and some of the men and who I assumed to be the clients. Ranger was correct however, they seemed to be taken with a zoom through the windows. I relaxed into him again, thankful nothing too major had happened while I was out.

'So what has you in such a good mood?' I asked, turning in his lap to look at him, bringing my legs up to my chest to curl up,

'Babe, I'm just glad you're safe.' He said, pulling me in closer to him and draping his arms around me.

'Ranger what are you...' I started, moving away from him but his arms tightened,

'What's wrong Babe? He questioned me, I felt my cheeks redden, I knew he was just flirting with me, it had never bothered me that much before, I didn't know why it was affecting me so much more now.

'I just, I can't deal with this flirting.. Not now.' I said, face reddening more.

'Babe, I'm sorry. Are you with Morelli right now?' He said, drawing back from me, but keeping his arms around me gently,

'No... I haven't been for a while. Its over... Forever.' I ground out, looking away,

'Why didn't you tell me?' He said, turning my face towards his as he looked into my eyes, searching my soul.

'Why do you care?' I returned, biting my lip and frowning at him, why was he making it so hard?

'Babe... I just wish I had known this earlier.' He whispered, placing a hand behind my head and drawing me in, guiding my lips to his. I couldn't help the soft whimper that escaped me as I felt his warm mouth descend on mine, god I wanted this man so badly. I wanted him to be mine, I frowned to myself and removed those thoughts from my head, Ranger deepened the kiss and I forgot all of my worries. He was so mind-blowing I almost forgot my name. When we broke apart for air I found myself staring at him, because in his gaze was his usual passion and lust, but there was something different, a sort of hope and happiness that I had never seen before. I hardly noticed myself turning my body to him, he cupped my face and I leaned in, needing the connection. I melted in his arms and time just dissolved into nothingness.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – The Threat  
Contract worker – James POV (2 weeks previously)

I was thrilled to be asked to work for Rangeman temporarily again, I must have made some sort of impression last time, or at least not got in anyone's way. I always take pride in the work I do and I always work hard, and although I know I am not Rangeman street material due to my small stature, it has been my dream to work in their office for a long time. They are such a renowned company, and the employees are treated so well with apartments, free food and even a gym to use. This along with the best health insurance on the market surely would make anyone want to work there.

My job was usually control room duty, which was always my favourite, it gives you an excuse to be nosy which I won't complain about. My favourite places to watch were usually the big companies, as you could watch for celebrities and generally get the inside scoop on all the richest places in Trenton. Of course front desk duty was sometimes allocated to be, due to it being the most boring job in the building, but again I didn't mind this too much as I was just so thankful to be working there at all. I went out with my family to celebrate them asking me back at Pino's. My mother, my younger sister and her two children came along and we had a great night, as my family left I settled up the bill and went to use the restroom. I was shocked when I walked in to find a man aiming a gun at my head. Terrified I slowly raised my hands and managed to stutter out

'W...What d-do you want? Money? I..I have money!' I swallowed hard as he laughed, tilting his head to the right, his eyes mocking me. I hardly noticed he was wearing a balaclava, I couldn't make out any of his features as I was slightly pre-occupied with the gun in his hand.

'I hear you are starting work at Rangeman my friend.' He stated quietly, his voice was accented, smooth and silky. It sent shivers down my spine, he reached towards me and I flinched in terror. His hand continued around me and locked the door behind me, keeping the gun aimed at my head.

'Y...Yes. I haven't started yet though...' I replied, thinking working for Rangeman was not worth this.

'I'm sure Rangeman employees are supposed to carry a gun.' The man pondered, eyeing his own gun with glee 'But then, I suppose they're just lumping you with a desk job?' He continued, his eyes travelling from his gun, back up to my face, they were full of violence and hatred, masked by a deadly calm. I nodded, wondering what this man could possibly want. 'Your nieces are so beautiful.' He carried on and I froze in horror, my mouth forming a silent O in shock.

'What do you want?' I asked desperately, I wanted my family safe more than anything else, nothing else mattered.

'Wouldn't it be just awful if something were to happen to them.' He continued as if he couldn't hear me, lovingly stroking the trigger of his gun.

'I'll do anything you want!' I begged, feeling tears spring up in my eyes at the thought of them being hurt.

'Well! I was hoping you would say that.' The man said, moving closer to me 'Because I'll be asking you to do a few things, and I'll be keeping a real close eye on you and those sweet little girls.' He chuckled and gently pushed my shoulder 'Sit, friend. We have many things to discuss.' I sank to the floor slowly, wondering what I had let myself in for.

I emerged from the bathroom 10 minutes later terrified but determined. I had my instructions and I knew what would happen if I didn't do as I was told, or if I failed in my mission. I was now cursing Rangeman for choosing me, and silently praying that if they found out they would be merciful.

(Present Day)

I had hoped that the man from the bathroom had forgotten about me, as for 2 weeks I had heard nothing from the burn phone he had given to me. But this morning I woke with dread in my stomach as I heard the unfamiliar chime of a text being received by my new phone. The text was very simple

'You will be on front desk. You will receive a package. You will give it to Ranger.'

Luckily I was already assigned desk duty so I didn't have to worry about swapping with the other contract workers. I didn't even want to think about what the package contained, all I thought about was my sister and her babies and how since their daddy had gone, I was their protector now. I went to work as usual, trying to stay calm and not let anyone know that anything was up. I reported to front desk and was absolutely horrified to find Hal sat there, he offered no explanation but simply asked me to go up to the break room to fetch us some water as our shift may be longer than usual. As I went into the break room I dropped my bag to the floor as I reached the fridge, to get out our waters. As I dropped my bag, a plastic bottle of pills rolled out and hit my shoe. They were my sleeping pills that I had stashed in this bag for when I had been staying with my sister a few weeks ago, evidently I had forgotten to take them out again. Suddenly genius struck me, as I tucked the pills into my pocket and took the 2 bottles of water with me into the bathroom. I locked myself into a cubicle and crushed up some sleeping pills into one of the bottles, I couldn't help but thank God that my doctor had prescribed tasteless ones, it was as if the big man wanted me to succeed. I screwed the tops back onto the bottles and walked back downstairs to Hal. Opening the bottle for him so that he wouldn't notice the seal had been broken I handed it over, before opening mine and taking a deep gulp, watching in satisfaction and fear as he did the same.

It was only about half an hour later that I looked up to see a postal worker coming in with a huge box in her arms, glancing over at Hal whose feet were propped up as he slept deeply I stood to receive the package, gnawing my lip nervously. I was sure to follow protocol to the T so that no suspicion would fall on me, and called another contract worker to come take me over as I delivered the package to Ranger's office, hoping to hell he wasn't in there. Thankfully I knocked the door and found it open, I noticed the office seemed very sparse, and while it was tidy there were holes in the wall, and tiny bits of shattered glass on the floor, I had no idea what had happened in there and didn't want to know. I placed the box on Ranger's desk and hurried away, relieving the contract worker who had been covering me.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed this! It means so much to hear people are enjoying this! This chapter is a bit of fluff, but the next chapter should provide a little more excitement, so I'm cracking on with that!  
Chapter 7 – Just my luck  
Stephanie's POV

Ranger and I spent quite a while in his office, quite honestly I didn't want to stop the kisses, the reassuring touches, I didn't want to return to reality. Finally he pulled back, smoothing my hair down and stroking my cheek gently, I bit my lip but was unable to suppress a yawn from marring my features momentarily. Ranger chuckled and kissed my nose gently, before scooping me up in his arms and walking out of the office. The apartment was totally silent now, so Samia must have gone downstairs with the rest of the guys, I knew that Lester had offered that she could take his bed but I was still surprised she had agreed. I didn't imagine Lester as being the Rangeman with the cleanest apartment. This just left the conundrum of who slept where for me and Ranger, I noticed he was carrying me to the bedroom so I started to squirm, hating the idea of kicking him out of his own bed.

'Where you taking me?' I asked, looking up at him with wide eyes,

'To bed Babe. You're exhausted.' He said, throwing me gently onto the bed and smiling when I got back up again, 'Don't fight me, you know I'll win.' He raised an eyebrow, before catching me and throwing me back onto the bed with more force. I groaned and stretched out on his soft bed, moaning at the feeling of his one hundred billion count sheets (that number sounds about right) I writhed around a little more, stretching out all my sore muscles before looking up at Ranger. His eyes were pure melted chocolate, dark with lust. 'You don't know what it does to me to see you moaning and writhing in my bed.' He stated simply, I gave him a cheeky grin and winked, surprised by my own boldness.

'If I don't know, then tell me. What does it do to you?' I was shocked to hear the words coming out of my mouth, it's like the devil on my shoulder had taken over my brain. Ranger raised both of his eyebrows, he was seemingly also unfamiliar with 'Bad' Stephanie who seemed to be in free reign right now.

'Dios Babe. There are no words.' He said, pushing off the wall he had been leaning against and kneeling on the bed by my feet, crawling up towards me.

'Well that's a disappointment,' Evil Stephanie continued, 'I guess I'll never know.' I cocked my head to one side, licking my lips as his eyes darkened further. 'That is, unless you can find another way to show me.'

Ranger's eyes widened as he took in my new bad-girl persona, I still didn't know what had come over me but I wasn't about to complain. 'Babe.' Was all he managed, and it sounded slightly strangled, he descended on my lips quickly as I tangled my fingers in his hair. Yanking him closer to me as we kissed passionately, I couldn't help but feel that I wanted more. The bad part of me took over once again, and rolled us over so that I was on top, which was not something I had ever done before. Joe had never wanted to give me that kind of control over him, and Dickie... Ugh! It didn't even bear thinking about. I knelt either side of his hips and braced my hands against his shoulders, holding him down even though I knew he could toss me around like a rag doll should he want to. I lowered my face to his and captured his willing mouth, moaning slightly as he deepened the kiss, I felt his need conveyed through the dancing of our tongues. I felt his hands running along my sides and I grinning against his mouth, pulling away I grabbed his hands and pinned them against the bed. His face changed into a wolf grin as I took more and more control, I left one hand holding his hands where they were, and used the other to start to explore his torso. I felt him shiver as I ran my fingers lightly along the lines of his muscles, and I lowered myself to kiss his neck. His mocha latte skin seemed to vibrate as I licked and kissed it, and I realised he was growling at me. I giggled and nipped at the skin by his collarbone and he released another primal growl, his whole body was tense as I tasted my way down his beautiful body. Finally I felt his control break as he grabbed me and pinned me down to the bed, lust clouding both of our minds as we both groaned with passion. When we broke apart for air, we were panting and covered in sweat.

'Babe.' Ranger repeated, staring into my eyes as his chest rose and fell, catching his breath.

'Don't blame me!' I yelped, immediately embarrassed, I felt my face turn beet-red and groaned, 'It was the little devil on my shoulder!'

'Is there any need for blame?' Ranger questioned me, his eyes confused, 'Do you regret that already?' he was obviously trying to keep the hurt out of his voice and not succeeding well.

'No! No definitely not! Why would I regret that? It's just, it's not something I would normally do... What I mean is, it was out of character. I mean, I wouldn't...' I started to babble, but was silenced by a kiss from the beautiful man holding himself above me.

'Good, because I don't regret it either. However you're tired. You need to sleep.' He said, an almost smile curved the edges of his mouth as he rolled off me and sat up, taking my hand he pulled me up too. 'You take the bed tonight Babe.' I opened my mouth to protest but he silenced me with a look, 'There's no way in hell you're sleeping on my couch. Deal with it.' He deadpanned, but I could still see the amusement in his eyes. I frowned at him, I couldn't help but feel terrible for kicking him out of his wonderful bed, I started to wonder if there were any empty apartments downstairs I could go to, but Ranger pulled his trump card and I knew I couldn't argue, 'Please.'

'Fine!' I sighed, standing up and making my way towards the bathroom, it didn't escape my attention that he lingered in the doorway to watch me, before leaving silently. I did my bathroom routine and crawled into bed in a t-shirt of Ranger's I found in the dressing room, but not before looking into the living room to see Ranger bunked down on the couch. He wasn't facing me, but I felt him scratch the back of his neck as I stood watching him. Our connection was still there, I smiled at the fact that he felt it just as strongly as I did. Shaking my head I pulled myself back together, I went and crawled into the huge bed. It felt too huge, too empty, but eventually I managed to fall asleep.

My dreams were haunted, I was chased by a faceless man through the streets of Trenton, I managed to reach my apartment and lock the door, only for it to be smashed down. I hid in my bedroom, screaming for someone to help me but no one came, the man with no face advanced upon me in my bedroom and I tried to scramble over my bed to get away from him but he grabbed me and yanked me towards him. I fought as hard as I could, biting and scratching him, kicking out all while screaming my head off, praying someone would help me. 'Ranger! Help me!' I screamed, praying that my saviour would reach me in time. The man started to shake me and I screamed more, tears pouring down my face as I noticed the young girl in the corner of my bedroom. Samia was curled up in a ball in the corner, tied up and sobbing. 'HELP ME!' I screamed louder, suddenly more frantic in the knowledge that Sammy was in danger too. 'Oh God! Someone please! Ranger! Help!' I continued, but I felt the man clamp his hand over my mouth while still shaking me with his other hand, I bit down hard and tasted the blood of my attacker, he swore and pulled his hand away and I was shocked to hear his voice. 'Ranger?' I whispered, suddenly doubt filled my mind, I looked up at his beautiful face but it was blank, no emotions to be seen. His image morphed again and suddenly it was Joe looking down at me, his hands on my arms with an almost bruising grip. 'He's dangerous Cupcake.' He whispered, the words echoed around my mind as his image morphed into that of my mother. 'You can't get anything right Stephanie!' she scolded me, hands on her hips as the person in front of me changed back to a faceless man, however this time he had a wide mouth with sharp teeth, it cackled with laughter as I screamed and writhed, terror absorbing me. Suddenly, my dream world disappeared as I felt myself being shaken harder than ever, I opened my eyes, fighting back even harder in the darkness. My eyes became more accustomed to the darkness as I realised I was not in my apartment, I was in Ranger's apartment, I was safe. I pulled myself back in the sheets as the lights came on and I stared in horror at Ranger, he stood before me with blood running down his arm and a swollen lip.

'Babe.' He whispered, approaching me slowly, carefully.

'Ranger,' I sobbed, 'I'm so sorry! I hurt you!' I bit my lip, tears streaming down my face. 'I was so scared.' Ranger got into the bed next to me and drew me into his chest, stroking my hair and whispering Spanish to me.

'Lo siento mi amor, yo te protegeré. Usted está a salvo conmigo' Ranger whispered (I'm sorry my love, I will protect you. You are safe with me). Even though I couldn't understand his words, they made me feel much more safe and comforted. My heartbeat started to slow and I calmed down.

'Are you okay?' I asked him guiltily, turning to face him and gently touching his swollen lip.

Ranger chucked 'I'm fine Babe. I'm not the one I'm worried about.' He smoothed my hair back, and kissed my forehead softly. 'You were screaming for quite a while. Do you want to talk about it?' He asked, his eyes soft and gentle as he surrounded me with his strong arms.

'There was, I mean, I was being followed. It was the stalker, he, he didn't have a face.' I started, trying to stay calm and forget the panic that had flooded my body only minutes before. 'Uh, he got into my apartment, and grabbed me. Sammy was there, she was hurt.' I whimpered, closing my eyes to hold back the tears at the awful image. 'He was grabbing me and I bit him, he yelled out and suddenly,' I paused, not sure how to continue, to tell Ranger he had been a part of my nightmare.

'Go on, you're doing really well querida.' He murmured, looking into my eyes

'He, he turned into you. But it wasn't you... You had your blank face on. But you looked angry, disappointed with me.' I continued, watching his face nervously

'I'm never disappointed with you.' He whispered, smiling a little 'You're amazing, don't ever forget that. What happened next?'

'Um, well then Joe appeared, telling me that you were dangerous. That I should stay away. He wanted me to stay home with him.' I shivered, disgust running through my body at the thought of him 'I can't get away from him, not even in my sleep.'

'Now isn't the time to talk about him, but later. Will you tell me what happened? I didn't want to ask because I thought you'd say in your own time but...' Ranger asked and I felt warmth run through my body, he still cared, even if it was in 'his own way'.

'I'll tell you anything you want.' I murmured, knowing he could see the truth in my eyes.

'Did anything else happen in your dream?' He asked, stroking my face gently, as I explained about my mother telling me how I'm never good enough. His face hardened at this point, anger flashing through his eyes as I recoiled, not wanting him angry at me. 'Hey, hey I'm not mad at you.' He spoke softly, reassuringly.

We spoke for hours, about little things that didn't matter but I just couldn't let him leave, not yet. I was still too scared to be left alone, worried that the dreams that had haunted me would come back. Eventually I found myself drifting off, I snuggled into Ranger's chest and hoped he would get the message and not leave just yet. Luckily my dreams for the rest of the night were not plagued by any faceless men, Joe or my mother. I woke up still enclosed in strong arms and sighed happily, snuggling closer.

'Hey there bonita.' He murmured gently, his voice still a little rough and sexy from sleep 'How you feeling?'

'Better. This is a nice way to wake up.' I replied, looking up at him from my position, sprawled across his bare chest.

'I'm not complaining' he chucked, his chest vibrating, 'I get a beautiful woman's body all over me.' I looked up and attempted to raise an eyebrow, obviously the result wasn't what I had wanted, as Ranger just laughed more. Feeling really mature I just stuck my tongue out and went to get up, he pulled me back and kissed me gently on the lips before letting me go. 'You know you can always talk to me?' He questioned me, 'No matter what?'. I couldn't help but grin at him.

'I know.' I replied simply, wiggling my bum at him as I disappeared into the bathroom, I could hear his laughter through the door. I looked in the mirror at myself and smiled, I had batman laughing, maybe it would be a good day today. Guess how wrong I was?


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Further contact  
Ranger's POV

I called Bobby that morning while Stephanie was in the bathroom, to check that her violent nightmares were normal and he assured me that she was ok, just finding it hard to deal with things so I told him I'd be down later to get my hand checked. Stephanie seemingly had very sharp teeth and my hand was rather uncomfortable. She seemed alright this morning but I still worried about how much she could cope with, especially if all the terror crept up on her in the night. There was definitely no way she would be sleeping with me too far away from now on.

My babe emerged from the bathroom, she looked beautiful as always but there was a glint of determination in her eyes that had been absent yesterday. I knew that she was going face this head on, and I just hoped that the gorgeous woman in front of me would allow me to help her in any way I could. I went into the bathroom when Steph was finished, and had a fast shower, careful not to get any soap near my left hand. After a fast shower I went straight down to five to get to work, I needed a progress report from my men who had been cross checking any of my old enemies with any involvement with Steph or Sammy. They had also been checking up on where my old enemies where in the world right now. Steph was sat in her cubicle snacking on chocolate, thinking no one would notice. I noticed there was a slight buzz of noise from the break room so I went in to see what was going on, of course it was none other than my little sister keeping everyone from work. I cleared my throat and my men all scampered back to their posts, leaving me with Sammy in the break room.

'You ruin all of my fun Carlos!' She accused, poking me hard in the chest and laughing before continuing, 'What are we doing today then?' I groaned, I hadn't even thought about what to do with my crazy, accident prone sister.

'Uh, go find Steph. I'm sure she can entertain you better than I can.' I said, shrugging my shoulders and turning away, spotting Bobby down the hall waiting for me. 'I've gotta get going, you can go use the gym if you want.' I said, shaking my head as she scoffed at my words. Stephanie and Samia were kindred spirits.

I went to Bobby and we walked together to his make-shift surgery, he took a look at my hand and chuckled, 'She got you good Ranger.' He commented, 'But there's no need for stitches, I'll just bandage you up.' He retrieved the needed supplies and started to wrap my hand carefully, when he finished it was pretty much unusable but at least it wouldn't get infected. My phone started to buzz and I answered with my good hand, Bobby must have seen my expression darken as I answered curtly.

'Get rid of him.'

'I'll get her.'

'Room five' I deadpanned, making sure that no emotion seeped into my voice even though on the inside I was seething. Bobby gave me a funny look, but gestured that he didn't need anything more from me and that I could leave. I went to Steph's cubicle to find her and Sammy playing space invaders on her computer.

'Slackers.' I said, making them both jump and turn around. I smiled at them and shook my head. 'Babe, I need to borrow you for a bit. Sammy, please don't break anything or anyone.' I spoke, trying to keep it humorous, as I tried to hide my annoyance and anger. Steph stood immediately and Sammy quickly sat in her vacated, comfortable office chair. 'We have a problem. Morelli is here.' I said to her, watching carefully for her reactions. She recoiled slightly but seemed to correct herself.

'Why?' She asked, her voice small and worried,

'I'm not sure, he's in a conference room. I can deal with him if you don't want to.' I replied, trying to keep my voice soft and not show her my anger.

'It's fine. I can't avoid him forever.' Steph said, and I saw the determination in her eyes once again. I hugged her close and kissed her on top of her head,

'Proud of you Babe.' I smiled at her, knowing that those words might give her a little extra strength to get her through this. Damn Morelli, he just had to come and ruin things now, Steph was so scared and damaged by what was happening that I didn't want anything more to happen. Also my worry may have been partly selfish, I worried that if Steph saw Morelli, then any progress I had been making with her would be thrown out of the window. I had found myself and Steph growing closer and closer over the past few days and I didn't want that to be ruined by that jumped up jerk of a police officer. He had been so cruel to her, never accepting her for who she is, but she always went back to him. God knows what I'd do if she went back to him now, whoever this creepy stalker guy was, he was right when he said I didn't deserve her. But that doesn't mean I can't still want her to be mine, can't hate the idea of them getting back together. I shook my head to rid myself of these thoughts and found us almost at the conference room, I paused and looked at Steph. I felt apprehension rolling off her, so I placed my hand at the small of her back and to my surprise she removed it, and wrapped it around her waist, pulling herself in closer to me. My fear of Morelli convincing her to go back to him melted away at this simple gesture of trust. I lead her into the conference room and couldn't help but internally smirk at the look Morelli gave me for having my arm around her. We sat down on the table opposite Morelli and he looked at Steph with an emotion that I didn't like, it was total possessiveness.

'Cupcake..' He started, already making me angry with him, how dare he call her that name? He knows she hates it? Reminding her of the disgusting thing he did to her all those years ago.

'Joe. You don't get to call me that anymore. I am Steph or Stephanie to you.' Stephanie interrupted him, proving once again that she deserves my pride in her, she's so strong.

'Steph then,' Joe corrected, giving her an angry look before continuing, 'Listen, you need to come home with me, I got a letter in the post...' I frowned immediately and broke in,

'Did you bring the letter?' I demanded, trying not to show my concern over what the letter had contained within it.

'Yes, here.' He hissed at me, obviously not wanting me to be there at all, as he thrust the letter into my hands. 'Now Cupca.. Steph. Listen, this just proves how dangerous it is to be around this...' Joe eyed me for a second, I was glad I still held his fear, even slightly, as he never finished the sentence. 'I get this letter, saying that you're in danger because of him. Because of whatever shady, fucked up past he has! You need to come back to me.' Joe continues to rant for another few minutes, I sit staring coldly at him and am surprised that Steph is mimicking my stance and facial expression, not rising to his bait when he is rude to her or me. I am so proud of my Babe.

'We were good together Cupcake! We could have had our dream life! This lawless savage here is just using you! Can't you see that? Or are you to blind or stupid to see it? His past is obviously putting you in danger, who knows who this guy is! Your little friend here might've slaughtered his whole town and you would still stand by him you stupid girl! Is it just because he's attractive? Well I'm sure you're not the only one who thinks that! How many other women do you think he's charmed into his bed with his looks! You're just another little escapade for him. He's dangerous! It's being proven right now! You are being stalked because Ranger is a vicious and violent person! I mean, look at him! You deserve a million times better than him, and I can give you everything that he lacks! He's a criminal and a thug and...'

'Are you done?' She finally asks when it seems we have all had enough of his pig-headed tirade. Her voice is ice cold as she sits with her arms crossed, and I can't help but think that she looks so sexy when acting like this.

'Wha..?' Joe begins, but is unable to continue, as Steph leans forward and spreads her hands on the table, showing that she is in charge and he better respect that. If he doesn't, then I'll have no problem with teaching him the lesson.

'Listen here Joe. You have NO idea what's going on! IF you had bothered to ask then perhaps you may be more enlightened right now. BUT NO! Detective Morelli has to come in and save the day, no matter what the truth is! Ranger has been PROTECTING me! As he always does! You want to know why? Because he cares about me, he doesn't want to change me, he cares about me the way I am!' She was seething, I could feel it radiating off her, but she was also keeping her cool. 'So Joe, we have the situation under control. You can leave. Now.' She commanded, standing up to show the meeting was over. I stood with her and placed my hand on her waist, just as she had placed it before, I felt her lean into my slightly as we stood at the door waiting for Joe to get the message and leave.

'I'm not quite finished!' Joe hissed, suddenly standing too close. 'You have put her in danger Manoso. If anything happens then I will do everything in my power to make you pay.' He turned from me to Steph, 'And you listen here, he's just using you, when he's done with you, you'll come crawling back to me, you wait. Maybe I'll be kind and let you back into my bed, or maybe I'll make you beg.' He sneered, 'Do you really think he cares? He wants nothing but a good fuck. And let's be honest, you're not really that either.'

I am totally infuriated by Morelli's words and I find myself being carried forward, slamming him up against the wall. 'You do not have the privilege of being able to talk to Stephanie. You do not get to LOOK at Stephanie unless she sanctions it. She has endured enough lately without you being so disgustingly rude and ignorant. You've obviously never met this beautiful woman beside me if you think anyone can not care about her. She is the most wonderful, kind and caring person I've ever met, and in return everyone cares for her.' I spat in his face and hauled him in the direction of Hector. 'llévelo afuera por favor.' (Take him outside please) I hissed, before nodding my thanks to Hector.

I turned to Steph, taking her in my arms and holding her close, I rubbed her back hoping I was being soothing. God knows I'd do anything for this woman, but Morelli really made my blood boil, it took all of my control to not launch myself over the table as he insulted her over and over. I drew back to look into her eyes and saw a tinge of sadness but also acceptance, like she had expected something similar. This made the beast inside me roar, no woman should expect to be verbally abused by her ex-boyfriend, expect for their self esteem to be totally crushed. I stroked her face gently, promising myself that I would never hurt her like this, never insult her so cruelly. I was about to speak when we were interrupted, Cal stepped in and I couldn't help but notice the anger in his eyes. Stephanie always joked that when Cal was angry, his skull tattoo seemed to flicker and I could see where she got that idea from.

'Sir. We have a problem, Its urgent.' He handed me the envelope and started to back away, fearful of my reaction to the contents, I knew if this was the case the Stephanie needed to be safe and away from me when I saw this, whatever it was. I turned to her to ask her to wait for me at her cubicle but found that she had already left, I saw her being led down the corridor by Bobby and couldn't help but be grateful for my men. They were protecting Steph at all costs, including from me. I closed the door, and took a deep breath, I wanted to prove them wrong if I could. I sat and allowed calm to overtake my body, before I carefully opened the letter. I was immediately glad they had taken Steph away as I took in the pictures, I blinked hard and took deep breaths, determined to keep my cool. I didn't want to scare my Babe by losing my temper if I could help it. Inside the envelope were more pictures, but they were even more chilling as they were pictures from security cameras. Security cameras from inside Rangeman. I stared in horror as I realised my company had been infiltrated, I had been betrayed by someone and I hadn't known until this son of a bitch had felt the need to tell me. I pushed back from the table, sudden urgency running through me, Steph wasn't safe here, Sammy wasn't safe. This guy was inside, I walked out and handed Manny the envelope, knowing he would do any forensic analysis that he could. Then I went to find my right hand man and tell him my new plan.

'Tank, sit.' I ordered as I stepped into his office.

'What's happened Ranger?' He asked carefully, noticing I was dangerously close to losing it,

'Rangeman has been compromised, I'll have to take Sammy and Steph somewhere else, and make sure that only the core team monitor its security. I don't know where yet, but I need to get them out of here ASAP.' I stated plainly, 'Manny has some surveillance photos from our own cameras of Rangeman offices that the weirdo sent us.'

'I'll start looking into it. Just get the girls out of here and safe. Take Hector, you can trust him if no one else.' He replied simply, before leaving the office. I couldn't believe how quickly it was all happening, I went by Steph's cubicle and found it empty, but with a note saying there were up at 7. I stepped into the elevator quickly and made my way up to 7, walking in and finding the two most important people in my life standing near the door waiting for me. I opened my arms silently and they both came in for a hug, having them circled in my grip helped me to know they were safe.

'We have to leave.' I state simply looking down at them and kissing both of their foreheads, 'It's not safe here anymore.' Neither of them argue or ask questions, they simply nod and agree. Stephanie steps away to pack some things and Sammy goes to help her, I pause outside the door to listen in. I know eavesdropping isn't the most gentlemanly thing to do, but right now I just need to know what is going through their minds.

'It's hard to conceive the idea that Rangeman isn't safe.' Steph speaks softly, and I can hear the noises of clothes being thrown onto the bed. 'I mean, I know nearly everyone here, I can't believe anyone would do anything to hurt us!'

Samia makes a noise of agreement, and they are silent for a few minutes, I hear her giggle before speaking, 'Do you need this? Its rather lacy!' she speaks with mischief in her voice. Steph shrieks and I hear her and Sammy scuffle for a few seconds.

'Hands off my underwear kiddo!' Steph growls, but after a matter of seconds they both burst out laughing

'I wonder where we are going?' Sammy then speaks, she has a slight note of melancholy to her voice and I can't help but feel awful she has been brought into this, she must miss our home and family. 'Maybe it's somewhere hot! I'll have to buy a bikini and do some sunbathing!' She giggles and I get an idea. God bless my sister, I know where we are going. I'm hoping it's far enough away that the stalker will not be able to find us, but somehow I'm unsure that this guy will stop at anything to take my girls away from me. I walk into the bedroom to see how they are getting on and find them standing either side of a suitcase, throwing clothes in at random.

'You know, if you forget something we can just buy it.' I say, and they both grin at me.

'What a wasteful way to think Carlos!' Samia scolds, I see my mother's personality in her often, especially her caring and accepting tendency, I can see why she and Steph get on so well. I just shrug off her comment and go to sit on the sofa in the living room. I feel Steph enter the room behind me and sit down.

'Thanks, for standing up for me against Joe earlier.' She whispers softly, facing me and smiling, 'And for protecting me, you always do.' I smile at her words and pull her in closer to me until she is only inches away from me.

'I'll always protect you Babe. You mean everything to me.' I murmur quietly, embarrassed by my sentimentality but knowing I need to tell it to her, she has the right to know at least that.

'What did I do to deserve you?' Steph asks softly, I'm about to answer when I realise she doesn't know she spoke aloud. I chuckle softly and pull her even closer to me, and I am consumed by a feeling of calm and serenity that only my Babe can bring. It is at this point that I realise that if anything happens to her, Morelli won't have time to hurt me, because the pain of losing her would kill me too.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hello guys! Thank you so much for your kind reviews! It really is wonderful to hear from you all and to know that what I'm writing is being enjoyed. I'd like to ask those who haven't yet reviewed to take the time to, I love to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions good and bad! It's been a while since I last updated... So here's an extra long chapter! Yaay!

Chapter 9 – Finding safety  
Stephanie's POV

Sam and I packed quickly, not knowing what was going on spurred us into action. We tried to keep conversation light hearted but you could see the laughter not reaching our eyes. When I had packed pretty much everything I had Ranger interrupted us, making some sort of comment about being able to buy anything we want, I can't hold in my laughter as Sammy tells him off, it's times like this that we feel like a strange, eclectic family. I push that thought away as soon as it appears, Ranger doesn't want me like that, I remind myself sadly. We finally finished packing and I sat on the suitcase in order to close it, Sammy zipped it up and we were all done. As Sammy left to go to the bathroom I found my legs carrying me to the living room, sitting down next to Ranger. He was silent and staring off into the distance, in a zone I suppose. I sit silently for a few minutes, but when it became clear he wasn't going to speak I did instead, needing to express my gratitude. 'Thanks, for standing up for me against Joe earlier.' I attempted to channel all of my emotions into the words, reaching to touch his hand as I do. 'And for protecting me, you always do.' I find myself adding, I was glad I did when Ranger surrounded me with his arms and pulled me in close to him, smiling softly, I knew I was blushing deep red, but I looked away to hide it.

'I'll always protect you Babe. You mean everything to me.' Ranger replied simply, and I find my mouth open slightly, excitement coursing through my body at his words. He really does seem to care about me, even if it is just because I'm not all that safe right now. I feel the need to cling onto Ranger and never let go, he always comes to my rescue and I'll never stop owing him for that. I can't help but ponder what I did to deserve this white in shining armour, and am surprised when I feel his chest vibrate as he chuckles, I close my eyes, praying I didn't say too much aloud. I immediately feel the need to distract Ranger and speak again.

'Why do I need to pack?' I finally ask, curiosity getting the better of me, 'I know Rangeman isn't safe anymore, but what exactly does that mean? What's happened?'

'We have, received pictures... From our own security cameras. We don't know if he has hacked in, or is on the inside.' Ranger replied softly, obviously not wanting to frighten me.

'Okay, were are we going to go? It's not like we can use a Rangeman safe house, if he's on the inside he will know about these things...' I trail off, realising Ranger will already know all of this.

'I can't tell you right now Babe, but trust me, I have somewhere in mind. You'll love it.' Ranger smiled at me and I felt all of my fear melt away. Personally I couldn't help but hope for sunshine and beaches, it had been a miserable and drizzly August so far in Trenton and I was less than happy about it!

There was a knock at the door, followed by Hector's voice calling out to tell us it was him. Ranger opened the door and they bumped fists.

'Gracias por esta.' (Thank you for this) Ranger said simply,

'De nada.' (You're welcome) Hector replied and walked to me 'I keep you safe.' He said, then paused, thinking. 'So I come with you.' He finished, smiling proudly.

'You speak English?' I ask in surprise, I have only ever heard Hector speak Spanish.

'A little, It best no one know. They say more if they think I no listen.' He spoke carefully but coherently, his strong Spanish accent made his speech sound beautifully exotic. I nodded simply and he walked to my room, taking the suitcases of Sammy and I and lifting them easily. Damn, I can't even lift half of one! Sammy and I swiftly gather some food and drinks for our journey, unsure of how long it will take to reach our destination. Ranger is locked up in his office and is obviously sorting out things for our trip, but he emerges a few minutes later and walked to the bedroom, I leave Sammy to battle with the cool bags for the drinks while I follow him. I see him go into the closet and I pause, unsure if I should be there.

'Don't hover in the doorway Babe.' Ranger calls and I smile, of course he knows I'm here. He is crouched in the back of the closet in front of a massive safe that I've never noticed before. He flashes me a quick smile and gestures towards the safe. 'I just made you an account, put your thumb on the pad so it'll know you next time.' So I do, pleased that Ranger is allowed me access to something to personal to him. I can't help but be amazed I had missed the safe before now, it's so huge that I think I could easily fit inside it sitting down. The thumb pad turns green and the door clicks unlocked, I pull it open and my eyes widen. Inside are piles of paper, passports, drivers licences etc... All separated into plastic wallets, at the back of the safe there are a number of guns and knives which doesn't surprise me. Ranger manoeuvres me to one side and reaches in, shuffling through the plastic wallets. He seems to find the one he wants as he closes the safe after it, I hear it lock closed and am shocked when he slides it backwards, into the wall. When it is fully surrounded by the wall he slides another section of much thinner wall in front of it, after he is done you can no longer see where the wall changes, let alone where the safe is.

He moves me out of the closet and into the bedroom, sitting me gently on the bed as he sits next to me. 'I have something to tell you,' He starts, if I didn't know better I'd think her were nervous, 'Well, I've known you a while now... A little while back, I uh... Got some new identifications for us... In case something happened and I needed to protect you...' He stumbled through the sentence, looking at me warily, obviously worried about my reaction.

I know that I can't upset him, I need him to know that I appreciate everything he does for me. 'Thanks for thinking of me, you always look after me.' I reply simply, smiling and hugging him. 'So... Who am I?' I joke, smiling.

'I kept our first names the same so that we do not slip up and call each other the wrong things. You are Stefanie with an F, so that if someone searches for your name it won't come up, I am Carlo without an S on the end, and Samia is simply Sam. They're hopefully all going to be close enough that we don't get confused, but different enough that nothing will be suspected. Our surname is Machado.' He says, looking at me smiling.

'Our surname?' I question immediately, what does he mean? I don't have to act like his sibling do I?

'This is the bit that I'm not sure you'll be happy with, this particular identity involves a married couple and my younger sister who lives with us.' He says quietly, looking down at his hands.

'That's fine, don't worry.' I say immediately, hell, I get to pretend I'm married to the Cuban sex god, I'm not complaining! Ranger snorts with laughter and I bury my head in the pillow, unbelieving that I said that aloud. 'What did you mean this particular identity? Do I have others?' I say, determined to remove the attention from me again.

'Yes, I'll show you to them, but only if they are needed. It ruins the point of them if people know what they are.' Ranger teases me softly and I chuckle, pushing him off the bed and onto the floor. This elicits a laugh from him as he gets back up off the floor and pushes me back onto the bed, we laugh again and I stay lay down and soon he joins me. Stroking my hair softly as I lay my head on his chest, I sigh softly, snuggling in close.

'GUYS!' I hear Sammy holler from the kitchen, 'DID YOU LEAVE WITHOUT ME?'.

We both chuckle and I call back 'NO! WE'RE JUST COMING!', I stand and Ranger stands also, soon after. 'Cmon, the natives are getting restless Ranger.' I say, grinning.

'Carlos.' He corrected me, 'Start getting in the habit Babe.' He pauses and looks at me, 'Yes I can still call you Babe. That's less of a giveaway.' I can hear the humour in his voice as he knows his damn ESP is working.

We finally make it downstairs and into the garage, accompanied with drinks, food and new identities. Hector has Rangers.. No.. Carlos' black Porsche ready for us and Sammy is bouncing off the walls. 'We are riding in THIS?' She screeches, startling Hector but not surprising us at all.

'No Sammy, sorry. You're in this,' He gestures towards another black sleek car which was in the corner of the garage.

'YOU GOT A FERRARI?' Sammy screams even louder, 'I gotta ride in both of these! Oh my Godddd!'

'Get in the car.' I hiss, unwilling to give up my sense of hearing. We both get into the Porsche and watch as Sammy jumps into the other car, I can't help but laugh at the defeated look on Hectors face as he manoeuvres himself into the driver's seat. We leave the garage with Hector following us, Ranger soon slips into his driving zone and I find myself staring out of the window, trying to guess where we are going. I read a few signs and start guessing, anything to stave off the boredom of a long, silent car journey. 'Is it Point Pleasant?' I ask quietly, knowing that he is aware of my love for the place.

'No Babe, sorry. It's too easily linked to you. One day we'll go there.' He promises quietly, I can't help but feel excited, that means he definitely wants to spend time with me when this is all over. 'Babe, I'm not gonna drop you once this is finished.' He says, as if reading my mind, I can't help the smile that spreads over my face while I look at him. He looks over to me, giving me the 200 watt smile. Blush fills my face as he reaches over and rests a hand on my thigh, stroking gently with his thumb for a few seconds.

'Are we going to Philadelphia?' I ask next, noticing our southern direction but he shakes his head. I am quiet for another few minutes and then I notice another name on the sign, 'Are we going to Jackson?', Ranger laughs quietly and shakes his head once again and I feel frustration build inside me. After another half an hour of staring out of the window I am at breaking point. 'What time is it?' I inquire, laughing as my stomach asks the same question by rumbling. All I had for breakfast was some chocolate I had happened to have in my handbag, and I was now starving.

'It's almost 1,' Ranger replied, snapping out of his zone to look at me, 'I'm guessing you're hungry.' My stomach answered him before my lips could and he just chuckled, before shaking his head and looking back to the road, 'I'll find somewhere for us to eat.' I start fantasising about what I would do for a big chunk of chocolate cake, and exactly what I would do with it. I heard Ranger groan and I realise I may not have been fantasising in my head. 'I'm finding you somewhere as fast as I can Babe, please don't torture me like that.' He muttered, looking at me with dark eyes. After another few minutes we pull off the road with Hector following, of course the perfect parking karma means that the two spaces in front of the door are free, Damn. We seem to be at a small restaurant called 'La casa de mi Madre.' Which even I can translate to 'The house of my mother.' The restaurant is cosy and warm, and as we enter I can't help but moan, it smells wonderful inside. Ranger easily gets us a table in the corner and Sammy and Hector soon join us, we are handed the menus by a small elderly Spanish lady. I soon fall down when I realise the menu is all in Spanish, Ranger- no Carlos, smiles at me and takes the menu from my hands. 'Do you trust me?' He asks softly, placing a hand over mine.

'Of course.' I reply, smiling softly to him as the waitress comes over to the table. Suddenly I groan inwardly, he's ordering for me, I'm getting rabbit food and salad, what a waste of a lovely restaurant.

'Hola. ¿Qué te gustaría?' (Hello. What would you like?) The small lady asks as she smiles softly at us.

'Hola, nos gustaría dos gazpacho,' Carlos starts, nodding at Hector to check that was what he wanted, when he nodded back Carlos continued, 'un empanada y un ropa vieja.'(Hello, we would like two gazpacho, an empanada and ropa vieja) He finished, smiling at me with the last few words, so whatever ropa vieja was, I knew it was mine. Easy conversation started as we waited, Sammy and Hector obviously got on very well as they laughed and joked easily. This left me and Carlos to talk quietly to each other.

'Are we using our new names already?' I ask softly, which made him laugh and nod.

'Yes, I'm out for a meal with my wife and sister.' This made him chuckle as he took my hand from the table, 'My wife.' He repeated softly, looking into my eyes and smiling. After a few seconds he turns away again and I could swear I hear him whisper to himself 'keep it together man, maybe someday...' but I quickly dismiss this thought, knowing that Ranger is only keeping up the act to keep me and Sam safe. Our food arrives soon after that and I am surprised to find a beautiful steak and tomato dish with Spanish rice, Range.. Carlos and Hector have some sort of soup and Sammy has a baked pastry filled with ground beef. It all looks delicious and I can't wait to start. As soon as the beautiful sauce hits my tongue I let out a moan, it is delicious and the flavours all explode in my mouth. Carlos laughs and slings an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in. 'You are such a tease.' He whispers, before returning to his food.

'This is delicious,' I finally am able to restrain myself enough to speak, 'Thanks for not choosing salad.' This makes him laugh, and make some sort of comment about not wanting to torture me too much. We linger over our lunch for a little while, still chatting and laughing until finally the lady comes to clear our plates, Carlos throws some money onto the table and we walk out of the restaurant.

'We're swapping cars.' He tells me softly before leading my to the Ferrari, I can't help but turn to see a very excited Sammy running towards the Porsche. 'She's an excitable little one isn't she?' Carlos laughs affectionately whilst running his hand through his hair. I smile at him as he starts the car and this time we follow Hector out of the parking lot, it takes another 30 minutes before I finally realise where we are going.

'Long Beach Island?! Are you kidding me! I've always wanted to go here!' I shriek, staring hungrily out of the window and wrenching Carlos out of his zone.

'Yeah Babe, I happen to own a house in one of the northern townships.' He replies, smiling simply at me. 'I'm glad you're happy. I love it here.'

About 10 minutes later we pulled up to a huge gate with a long driveway behind it, either side of the drive there were beautiful gardens, consisting of large areas of grass bordered with trees and flower bushes, it was very obviously well maintained. Hector pulled up to one side to allow R…Carlos to approach the gate; the window was wound down as he reached out to a small panel next to the gate. On the panel there was a small scanner, similar to the one on the safe and as I suspected Carlos pressed his thumb to the panel and it flashed green. Then, as if in a spy movie a green light engulfed his face, and I realised it was the type of scanner which looked at your eyes. Safe to say I was supremely impressed as the gates smoothly opened, allowing both cars onto the driveway before closing again. From our new vantage point I was able to see the house, and it took my breath away. The house was a large but not ridiculously so masterpiece, easily enough to hold a large family. An image of beautiful little baby Carlos' popped into my mind… Where did that come from? The walls of the house were a gentle cream colour, and the roof consisted of red terracotta tiles. The porch was an old fashioned traditional front porch, only missing a rocking chair and a knitting granny. Carlos opened my door for me and took my hand to help me out of the car, I hardly noticed him as I took it all in. While in the car the air conditioning had been keeping us cool, but out in the sun the heat was stifling and I found myself wanting to get inside this beautiful house as soon as possible. I was handed the keys, so I opened the front door, noticing its weight as I really had to lean into it to get it to open, I was relieved to feel the rush of cold air as I entered the house. The room inside the door seemed to be an entrance hall; to the left hand side was a beautiful sweeping staircase which was made of white marble, matching the exquisite floor. The walls were occupied with a few simple photos in sleek black frames, there were pictures of the Rangeman team, what seemed to be Carlos' army division, his family and… A beautiful picture of us, simply looking at each other and I couldn't help but be taken back to that moment. After trying and failing to teach me to use a gun for almost an hour, I managed to get a lucky shot right into the paper guy's heart, obviously I jumped around and screamed and insisted that it was pure skill, not luck, but once I was done celebrating I had turned to my mentor. 'Proud of you Babe.' Had been his only words and I can remember feeling so happy that I had managed to make him proud of me. This particular moment was captured and the picture itself was so amazing I was considering asking for a copy. Ranger turned and started talking to Hector about altering the photo's to make them fit our background more and Hector nodded, I frowned at them in confusion and Hector quite simply replied,

'I am photo shop wizard you see.' And I couldn't help but chuckle. Sammy and I leave the boys behind and walk through to the next room, which is obviously the living room. The carpet on the floor is thick and soft beneath my feet (I had taken my boots off at the door, of course). The one wall was filled with a huge flat screen TV and opposite this was a large, soft looking leather sofa. Between these was a thick white animal fur rug which was so inviting, I almost lay down on it immediately. Dotted around the room there were also a few cream material beanbags and a cream leather recliner chair, matching the sofa. The neutral colour palette suited Ranger so well, but there were little bursts of colour here and there such as little blue cushions on the sofa, and blue flowers which let me know that somewhere along the line, Ella had been there.

On we ventured into the dining room/kitchen which took my breath away, on the other side of the room were massive glass sliding doors which opened out onto the deck, the doors gave the room a beautiful light and I found myself staring out at the blue sky for a few seconds before coming back to. Sammy was already investigating the kitchen, poking around the cupboards and opening the fridge, she was grinning widely as she found them all stacked full of food, but I couldn't help but wonder who had done this grocery shopping but I was soon distracted once again, the kitchen worktops were black marble with some sort of glitter in it. All of the appliances were state of the art and I couldn't help but think that this kitchen alone probably cost about three times what my apartment was worth. I was startled by a squeaking noise behind me and found Hector setting Rex's cage down, I laughed softly and walked up to the cage, Rex hadn't enjoyed living with Carlos so far. It was insisted that he was fed healthy food such as salad, I had only managed to sneak him a few bits of tasty cakes and he was starting to get annoyed with Carlos, refusing to come out of his soup can for food. Sammy suddenly screamed and I jumped in shock,

'YOU HAVE A SWIMMING POOL?!' She yelled, pressing her hands up against the glass doors and practically drooling, I walked over to join her.

'Oh wow.' I breathed, shocked 'Look at that! We're so close to the beach too!' I stated, pointing to a gate behind the swimming pool, where the beach and ocean lapping lazily were visible behind.

'Didn't take you long to find that.' I heard Carlos comment as he entered the room, humour evident in his voice. 'Come on, I'll show you upstairs first.' And like two toddlers, we both dropped our heads and trudged after him. After a full tour of our bedrooms and the other various rooms upstairs, including a study, he showed us that the garage had been changed into a gym. Well, you can imagine our excitement at that, we both groaned in horror realising we had no way to get away from this gym. Sammy wondered off this Hector, to sit outside by the pool leaving me and Ranger inside to talk. We sat on the sofa in the living room and looked at each other. 'So...' Ranger started, reaching towards my hand 'How are you feeling? I know it's got to be hard... Going through this.'

'Actually, I feel okay. I'm still so shocked that Rangeman has been... Infiltrated. I just, I trusted everyone there. I still do, so I can't really wrap my head around it.' I replied, biting my lip and frowning at him, knowing it must be much harder for him, seeing as he employed them all.

'I know what you mean Babe. But you know I'm here for you, you can ask me anything.' I looked up and saw the truth in his eyes and couldn't help myself.

'Anything?' I questioned, looking at him with mischief, when he nodded I sat silently for a few seconds... 'Who called you the other night?' I noticed him pause and lick his lips before proceeding,

'That was my government handler,' He started and I immediately stopped him,

'Hey it's okay. I know you can't talk about that.' I interrupt, smiling at him reassuringly.

'Actually, my situation has changed.' He replied quietly, 'I wasn't going to tell you until we settled in a bit more here but I guess...' he continued smiling at me but I thought I could detect a certain nervousness in his voice.

'What is it?' I asked, terrified he would have to leave again so soon, he was what made me feel safe at the moment, I didn't know if I could survive without him. I immediately stopped that train of thought, I couldn't become too reliant on him, he didn't do relationshi...

'My contract... It's finished.' He burst out, and I recoiled in shock, staring at him.

'You... what?' I whispered, wonder flooding through me, 'Finished?'

'The Government no longer own me.' He whispered back, moving across the sofa to sit even closer to me.

'Ranger, Carlos, that's amazing.' I grinned, tears in my eyes as I grasped his hands in mine. 'You're free now.' He laughed and pulled me in to him, holding me close as I whispered in wonder.

'Yeah, It's pretty amazing. I don't quite believe it yet.' He tilted my head up and looked into my eyes, looking like he was about to say something, then he looked down and his hand dropped to his lap. I took his hand again and we just sat in silence, taking in the information and processing it. Finally I moved so that I could see him easily and smiled,

'I'm so happy for you.' I whispered, surprised at the emotion in my voice and I received back a 200 watt smile which melted my heart. I couldn't help but wonder what it changed... Were we going to change? I looked at the beautiful man sat next to me with his arms around me and such caring in his eyes and hoped to God that things might change, that maybe, just maybe, we might finally be together.

**Don't forget to review! **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N I probably should have warned you guys earlier that this story also isn't very Helen Plum friendly, I'm not especially fond of her! Thanks to everyone for reviewing, following etc... so far, it means a huge amount to me! Sorry for the long delay between updates but I just got myself a job so have been very excited! Here's chapter 10, it's quite long but I didn't want to split it up so... yeah!**  
Chapter 10 – A little support  
Stephanie's POV  
We had all unpacked in our various rooms and I finally flopped down on my bed, exhausted. I reached for my handbag biting my lip, I knew that my phone would have to be turned on eventually but so far I'd managed to avoid it rather well. After staring at the offending object for a few minutes I finally gathered my courage and turned it on. A notification immediately popped up saying '54 missed calls. 30 voicemail.' I groaned and thrust it away from me, but when it started to play the voicemails I crawled back towards it to listen. The first few were my mother asking me over for dinner, obviously done the day that the stalker first contacted me as she didn't seem to know I wasn't at my apartment. These were followed by some asking me why I wasn't answering. I rolled my eyes at the sound of the next voice, Joe. 'Where are you cupcake? Are you with him? Don't you understand what he will do to you?' they started, seeming concerned and worried. The calls escalated to Joe ranting about Ranger kidnapping me and after that was a frantic call from my mother asking why Joe had been to her house to tell her I had disappeared. I swore softly, Joe was such a pain in the ass. After all these calls came a message that made me laugh, it was Mary-Lou asking if the rumour that I had been kidnapped by Rangeman was true, while trying to hold in her laughter. 'I can't believe people are actually stupid enough to believe that.' She giggled down the phone, before making a few remarks about how any sane female wouldn't complain about being kidnapped by Ranger. I couldn't help but giggle back and agree, promising myself I'd call her back as soon as I was done with the rest of the calls. Lula's voice then took over, ranting down the phone about how I'd abandoned her and gone off for some sort of kinky 'kidnap' holiday with ALL the Rangemen. Lula does always seem to twist rumours for her own amusement! Lastly was a call from Connie informing me that all of my skips were being sorted by Rangeman. I suddenly felt sad, I hadn't even thought about calling Lula or Mary-Lou, I'd just been too busy with everything else, namely being scared. I deleted all the voicemails from my mother and Joe, and saved the ones from Mary-Lou and Lula as a reminder to call them.  
I felt his presence before he spoke, so I turned smiling.  
'Hey!' I exclaimed cheerfully, still internally chuckling at Lula's lewd description of what she would do if Rangeman 'kidnapped' her.  
'You're looking at me funny.' Ranger pointed out, raising an eyebrow. I grinned and thanked God that his ESP wasn't working right now. 'I just wanted to warn you, we need to get in character and stay there now. The first thing we need to do is to make sure people around here know who we are.'  
'Sure!' I replied smiling at him, 'What are the pictures in the hall going to be changed into?'  
'It's a surprise.' Ranger muttered, looking away and then staring at his shoes. 'So... Since we need to get across the idea that we are... Well, married...' He stumbled through his sentence, frowning at his shoes as if they were causing his speech to come across so nervous. 'I thought I could take you out on a date...' He paused and looked up nervously, 'If that's okay with you...' I smiled so much I thought my face might split, I couldn't believe Batman was nervous about asking me out on a date. I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling him to sit on my bed next to me.  
'That sounds great, Carlos.' I replied, rolling the R. 'It will be nice to spend a bit of time with you... My husband...' I laughed, winking at him before giving him a hug.  
'When this is done, I'll take you out on a real date.' He muttered taking my hand and kissing the back of it. 'With no acting, just us.' I smiled at him,  
'I'd like that.' He smiled back at me and stood to leave,  
'Wait!' I called, 'What should I wear?' He turned back to face me, his gentle smile had morphed into a wolf grin, without speaking he reached for my hand and tugged me through the bathroom to his bedroom (as they are connected). This room is obviously the master bedroom as it is huge and has a balcony with a breath taking view over the pool and the ocean with its pristine white beach. I stand with my mouth hanging open while I take it all in, until Carlos tugs on my hand and leads me to a huge walk in wardrobe. I frowned when I noticed half of the wardrobe contained female clothes and I felt jealousy sweep through me. 'Whose are these?' I asked quietly, looking at Carlos.  
'Yours.' He replied, looking at me in confusion. 'Ella got them for you, why do you sound sad? Don't you like them? We can get different ones.' He looked at the clothes, and then at me again.  
'Mine?' I whisper, reaching to touch the soft fabric, there were so many of them. 'For me?'  
'Yes...' He frowned at me and I knew he didn't understand what was going on.  
'They're beautiful Carlos, but... All of these for me? I can't possibly afford these clothes. Oh my God! That handbag is Gucci! I can't pay for...'  
'You will not be paying for these.' Carlos interrupted me, 'Babe, I'm allowed to spend money on those I care about. I'm a very rich man, if buying you things makes me happy, will you deny me that?' He asked, a slight note of begging in his voice. My mind went blank for a second, he cared about me, he definitely did, he just said so.  
'I just..' I suddenly pushed him out of the way as I rushed towards the shoe rack, 'You have to be kidding me! Louboutin shoes! Oh, they're so beautiful!' I stared at them, hardly daring to touch them.  
'I'm guessing this makes you forgive me.' Carlos laughs as he shuffles around the different racks, 'You asked what to wear tonight, so how about this?' He holds up a little black dress and I stare at it, it's gorgeous and classy while still being tight enough to be sexy, it falls to just above the knee and the sleeves are made of lace. 'Then you could wear those black and red shoes.' He continued, obviously not understanding how much those 'black and red shoes' are worth.  
'What time will we leave?' I asked, glancing outside to find it still sunny outside.  
'It's only 3 now, we can leave at 7. What do you want to do now?'  
'Beach.' Was my automatic response. 'I mean, we are in Long Beach Island aren't we!'  
'Actually... We are currently in a town called Loveladies.' I burst out laughing, trust Carlos to own a house in Loveladies.  
'Actually, I don't own a house here. The Machado's do.' He reminded me, smiling at me as I grinned.  
He left me alone in the wardrobe to look at all the clothes that were now mine, I couldn't believe all the designer brands and the pure amount of clothes. I found some swimsuits in a drawer so I pulled them out to have a look, I laid out my favourites on Carlos' bed and tried to make the hard decision. In my head I was worried about looking good for Ranger, so I whittled it down to three choices and tried each of them on. As I was parading around in the first one, a black and white polka dot bikini, in front of a mirror I heard a low wolf whistle and turned, my face shining bright red.  
'You look gorgeous Babe.' Ranger said from his seat in the corner of the room, I was suddenly very glad I had gotten changed in the bathroom. I looked down in embarrassment until he stood and walked over to me. 'Stunning.' He whispered into my hair as he stood behind me, his hands running over my bare skin. I turned to face him, and looked into his eyes which were dark with lust and staring into mine. All of a sudden I grew a great burst of confidence as I strutted away from Ranger and winked at him, I did a few poses as he chuckled, seating himself back in the chair he had vacated. 'Do I get a show?' He asked and I smiled, I grabbed the next bikini off the bed and walked into the bathroom, swinging my hips as I walked. This one was a red halter neck bikini and made me feel like a celebrity. I walked out of the bathroom as if I was on a catwalk, and earned another whistle. 'Wow, I didn't think it could get any better!' He said quietly, his voice sounding a little more breathy than usual. I walked back into the bathroom and changed into the final, and my favourite bikini. It was a dark and light blue bikini which had the same pattern as light through water, it looked beautiful and matched my eyes. I felt most confident in this one as I walked out of the bathroom and into Carlos' room, smiling as I did. I hardly saw him before he was in front of me, pushing me back against the wall and capturing my mouth. I responded to the kiss with vigour, guessing that this was his favourite bikini too. 'Dios Babe.' He groaned against my mouth, 'The things you do to me.' I grabbed him by his hair and pulled him back into the kiss and he made a sort of animalistic growl. As I was easily lifted by Carlos our lips never left each other, that is, until he threw me onto the bed. I bit my lip as I watched him crawl up the bed towards me, he paused at my stomach to caress the smooth material of the bikini bottom before continuing up the bed until he was holding himself above me. I squirmed beneath him, looking up through my eyelashes as I licked my lips. That's all it took for his lips to come crashing down onto mine and I moaned softly, feeling his one hand run through my hair while the other traced soft patterns on my stomach. I laced both of my hands back into his hair as I squirmed, trying to mould my body even closer to his.  
'GUYYSSSSS!' I heard Sammy holler and I groaned, dropping my head back onto the pillows.  
'WHAT?' Carlos yelled back, pulling himself off me and stalking to the doorway.  
'Are you coming out or what? There's only a few hours of sun left!' I couldn't help but chuckle, you could tell they were related from the way they were able to mimic each other's yelling so perfectly.  
'She's right you know.' I laugh, glancing outside to see the sun still beating down.  
'IN A MINUTE.' Carlos called before returning to the bed, he offered his hand to me and pulled me upright. 'I need to find something to swim in, I don't fancy skinny dipping with my sister.' He told me and I rolled my eyes at him, 'But that, that isn't over.' He promised and I felt heat wash through me. I walked downstairs to join Sammy who was practically pawing at the door.  
'I can't get out!' She whined, pouting at me.  
'That's cos' it's locked Sherlock.' Carlos' smooth voice appeared behind me and I turned to him, raising my eyebrows. He walked over and placed his thumb against the little screen, before inputting a long code into the keypad. As the doors clicked, Sammy wrenched them open and let them slide as she bounded outside and jumped into the pool. I was doubled over with laughter as Carlos stood in front of me, shocked and soaked through from the splash. Sammy pulled herself out from the pool and high fived me before getting back in. I was still laughing my head off when I felt the ground shift beneath my feet, I let out a high pitched scream as I realised the bastard was throwing me into the pool. The cool water hit me and almost took my breath away, I resurfaced and heard Sammy letting out peals of laughter, so I dunked her. I gave Carlos an annoyed look and held my hand out for him to pull me out of the pool, since there was no ladder. He laughed and walked forward to pull me out, as soon as he grasped my hand I yanked as hard as I could and pulled in into the pool, ducking and pulling myself into the wall with my other hand so that the wall of muscle wouldn't hit me. He grabbed me as he went in and pulled me under with him. We spent the next few hours as such, a mix of sunbathing and messing around in the pool, Sammy found a little cupboard of pool toys so I was currently lounging around on a lilo while Carlos and Sammy played pool basketball.  
'If I stay out much longer, I'll burn no matter how much sun block I put on.' I informed them, as I slid off my lilo and into the water. I pulled myself out of the water and padded back into the house for a shower. I was just finishing blow-drying my hair as Hector wandered into my bedroom, looking for me.  
'Estefania!' He called over the noise of the hair dryer so I turned it off.  
'What's up Hector?' I asked, smiling at him.  
'I want to show you picture I make. Make sure they okay.' He told me so I smiled and went to sit on the bed, patting the duvet next to me for him to sit down too. 'You may be shock. They fit story.' He warned me and I just smiled, reaching my hand out for the first frame. My breath was taken away as I saw younger versions of myself and Carlos, standing on a pier somewhere. I felt tears in my eyes as I looked at each picture, they seemed to catalogue our life together, including Carlos' life with Sammy and the rest of his family, but not his real family. Finally, Hector handed me the last one and I gasped, it was a wedding photo. Carlos in a beautiful black suit and myself in a gorgeous white dress, the veil pulled back from my face. We are staring lovingly into each other's eyes and I found my fingers tracing the picture. 'Not much photo shop on that one.' Hector said and I looked at him in confusion. 'I just make you younger and add the clothes, you not notice but you look at each other like this often.' I blushed and stared at the picture.  
'Can I... Could you get me a copy of the original photo... Please?' I asked, slightly embarrassed but knowing I need that picture. Hector just smiled at me and nodded, before leaving me blushing.  
I got changed out of my towel and into the beautiful black dress that Carlos had picked out, I found some jewellery and a simple black clutch and was applying my mascara when Sammy appeared in my doorway and wolf whistled me. I turned to her laughing and struck a pose, leaving us both giggling. She grabbed the stall from under my dresser and sat me down on it, before running out of the room and returning with leopard print curling tongs. I laughed and resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to be allowed to move until she was done, we chatted quietly as she fluffed and messed with my hair until she stepped back with a flourish.  
'My magic is finished!' She announced, before moving the mirror back to the stand so that I could see. I gasped, my hair looked sleek in beautifully styled ringlets and I turned to Sammy and hugged her, thanking her. She waved me off and left to find Hector, muttering something about making sure she doesn't go hungry. I finish my make up and walk into Carlos' room to fetch my yes MY Louboutin shoes, I quickly get them and put them on before admiring myself in the mirror. I look pretty good if I may say so myself and I have a feeling that Carlos may agree as I twirl in front of the mirror grinning at my reflection.  
'You look so beautiful.' A quiet soft voice sounds behind me, I smile as he steps into my view and I watch his reflection. He places a hand at my waist as he brushes gentle kisses into my hair, my eyes tear up at the tenderness he shows and I find that I cannot simply watch his reflection anymore. I spin to face him and feel his large hand cup my face, I stare into his eyes and see an emotion I have never seen before, pure caring and compassion, there is no mask hiding his emotions and I find myself leaning my head against his shoulder. Carlos starts to move us, both of his hands on my hips as we seem to dance to our own music, lost in the moment.  
About half an hour later we arrived at a local seafood restaurant, before exiting the car Carlos put his hand over mine and took my left hand. He wordlessly slipped a gold wedding band onto my finger and put a matching one on himself, he winked at me before getting out of the car, rounding it and opening the door for me. We were promptly shown to our table in the corner of the busy room and naturally Carlos took the seat with his back to the wall, I decided to take the seat next to him instead of opposite as it meant I would be able to see the rest of the people in the room. There's not much I love more than a good bout of people watching, when the waitress came over to take our order she was momentarily stunned as she stared at Carlos, her mouth gaping a little. To her credit she recovered quickly and asked us what we would like to drink, we ordered the house red and the girl bit her lip.  
'Excuse me, but I have to ask, Are you on vacation here? I've never seen you before.' She enquired, smiling brightly at us both, she couldn't have been over 17 years of age and so I couldn't help but smile at her curiosity.  
'We're new to the area.' Ranger told her, giving her a grin which made her blush, 'Just moved in today infact!'  
'Wow that's awesome! Where abouts did you move to?' She continued, this time directing her question to me, I was impressed by the fact she had even noticed me.  
'We live on North Lane.' I reply, impressed by my own knowledge, 'Right at the end'  
'No way!' The girl exclaims, laughing, 'I live two streets down, Sea Pine road! Is your house the one with its own bit of the beach?' she questions, excitement in her eyes. 'I always wondered whose house that was!'  
'That's us.' Ranger replies, chuckling softly at the girls enthusiasm as she left to get our drinks.  
We spend the whole night laughing and chatting, soon we have talked to most of the tables around us and find that most live within a few streets. If the objective of tonight was to get ourselves known as our cover identity then we most certainly succeeded. The food was delicious, we had a sharing platter which contained a little bit of everything and I had no complaints whatsoever. When we stood to leave, (Carlos had shot me a look when i asked about dessert) I quietly thanked our server who grinned at us and waved us off, Carlos' hand found its way to my waist as we walked outside, and instead of to the parking lot, he guided me to the side of the building where a small harbour was located with wooden piers. 'It's pretty here.' He stated, pushing me to sit down on the end of the dock as i simply stared out to sea.  
'It really is.' I agree smiling, watching the horizon.  
'I just wanted to show you here... It... Well... When I was here last, I couldn't stop thinking of you.' He murmured, laughing softly at himself.  
'Thats really sweet.' I reply, blushing deeply and continuing my stare out into the water. 'Maybe we could come back another day? Bring a picnic?' I enquire, looking at him. He simply nodded as he stood and helped me up, guiding me back to the car and opening the door for me. We arrived home to the smells of freshly baked bread and I immediately gravitated towards the kitchen, Sammy was stood in the middle looking like a ghost. She was covered head to toe in flour looking a bit shocked, I chuckled quietly as she blinked and then frowned.  
'It's kinda flour'y in here.' she stated, making me laugh a little louder,  
'D'ya think?' I replied, shaking my head as I spotted the source of the smell, a beautiful white loaf on the chopping board. 'Who made this?' I asked  
'You think i got this messy for nothing? I made the damn thing!' She replied distractedly, trying to brush as much of the substance off her as possible. 'I'm going for a shower!' she finally exclaimed in exasperation as she trudged upstairs, leaving me grinning in confusion after her.  
'Shes not a baking whiz.' Carlos pointed out and laughed,  
'Don't be mean! This looks great.' I motioned towards the bread, smiling.  
'She doesn't.' He replied, his smirk evident in his voice.  
'I'd like to see you do better!' I remarked, raising my eyebrows at him before walking upstairs, 'I'm gonna make some calls.'  
'Don't tell anyone...' Ranger started before i interrupted him,  
'Gee captain obvious, I'm not planning on telling everyone our new identities and exactly where we live if thats what you're thinking!' I turned to face him, hands on hips.  
'Sorry...' He chuckled, turning and walking back towards the kitchen with a huge smirk on his face.  
'Damn him.' I hissed under my breath as I reached my bedroom and grabbed my cellphone.

'White girl! I was starting to think you didn't love me no more!' Lula hollered down the phone as she picked up.  
'Hey Lula, you okay?' I reply, rolling my eyes.  
'No I most certainly am not!' She screeches 'Y'all gone and left me and run of with some hot ass men! Where's my invite?' I chuckle and think for a second before replying  
'It wasn't a planned thing Lula. I can't really tell you much at the moment, but there's som guy in Trenton who seems a little obsessive so Ranger has taken me somewhere a bit safer.'  
'Damn girl you always attract the weirdos!' Lula states and i laugh along with her, as we both know how true that statement is. 'You're safe though?' She enquires, making me smile as the rarely seen sensible Lula takes over.  
'Yeah I'm safe.'  
'Well you tell Ranger that if you so much as break a fingernail then I'll beat his ass into next week!' Lula threatens, making me laugh.  
'I'll pass that along. Thanks Lula! Don't worry, I'll be keeping in touch.' I grin, smiling at my best friends concern over me.  
'Okay then! Bye!' She calls, and I hang up, laughing softly. I figure I should next get a more serious phone call out of the way so I dial my house phone.  
'Plum residence.' A low, soft, familiar voice sounds over the phone which makes me grin,  
'Hey Daddy!'  
'Pumpkin! Hey, are you alright? I haven't heard from you for a little while.' He suddenly speaks quieter and I realise my mother must be nearby and he's trying to get a few words in before she snatches the phone off him.  
'Yeah I'm fine Daddy, I managed to pick up another creepy stalker so Ranger has taken me someplace safe until it all blows over.'  
'Well then, I can't wait to meet this man and shake his hand. Thank him from me will you?' He replies, his kindness and gratitude easily heard through his voice.  
'I will Daddy, he always seems to keep me out of trouble... Well as best as he can.'  
'Well no one can keep you totally out of trouble can they love, you just wouldn't be you then.' He teases making me laugh, my laughter soon fades as I hear a yell over the phone.  
'WHO'S ON THE PHONE FRANK!' A screech, commonly known as my mother is heard.  
'It's Stephanie, here, she was just asking for you.' My dad lies smoothly, knowing that i'm in trouble for not calling.  
'WELL PASS IT HERE THEN! THAT LITTLE BRAT...' She tails off as she receives the phone and speaks in a sickly sweet voice. 'Hello there Stephanie, how are you dear? I've not heard from you and you didn't come to dinner.'  
'Yeah, sorry about that Mom. There's a man in Trenton who is a bit dangerous to me, so Ranger has taken me some place safe for a little while.'  
'That doesn't sound proper.' My mother tuts over the phone, immediately riling me.  
'What doesn't? Ranger keeping me safe?'  
'You know Stephanie, you could have a husband to do that for you! Instead of some hired street thug! Joe is here waiting patiently for you and you throw it back in his face!'  
'Mother! I am NOT marrying Joe! Ranger is my friend and he is helping me, you should be thanking him, not insulting him!'  
'All he wants is to get in your pants, not like you're making it hard for him!' My mother screeches down the phone, momentarily shocking me that my own mother would think of me like that.  
'Just because Joe has told you that doesn't mean its true!' I yell back, anger coursing through my body. 'You don't know Ranger and quite frankly thats your loss because he is an amazing man. He is more of a man than Joe will ever be and I am blessed to have him as a friend.' I seethe  
'What has he done to you? Brainwashed you? I always knew you were stupid Stephanie Michelle Plum but this is ridiculous!' I feel a hand on my shoulder and I jump as I turn, heart beating fast, to see who it is. There he stands, the man my mother seems to have such a vendetta against, he touches my face gently and smiles, then I hear what my mother is saying and it brings me back to the present. 'Anyway i hear that it's all this criminal's fault that you're in danger in the first place! He deserves to be in jail, not anywhere near you! Where's he got you whisked off to? Somewhere remote? Where no one can save you I suppose! Who knows what he'll do to you!' She rants and my face contorts in horror and anger, knowing that Ranger can hear my mothers screaming.  
'Mother! I don't know what you're talking about! Ranger has taken me somewhere so that I don't get hurt! HE isn't going to hurt me! I trust him.' I hiss indignantly, looking at Carlos in embarrassment.  
'Well then you're being stupid! Placing your trust in him! I've heard he's a murderer! Francesca Morelli doesn't have to worry about her children being off in some secluded place with a murderer!'  
'Francesca Morelli's daughter is a drug addict mother! Stop feeling so sorry for yourself for once!' I yell  
'Well! You spend so much of your time around thugs and freaks I suppose that wouldn't surprise you! If you lay yourself out like a common whore on the table for them then no wonder they all want to spend time with you.' My mother yells back and I bite back tears.  
'Those thugs and freaks are my friends, my true friends. You wouldn't understand, you can't even comprehend the idea of caring for someone unconditionally.' I whisper, tears pouring down my cheeks, I knew my mother wasn't the best, but her just assuming I was only around these men because I was their slut hurt me. I looked up in surprise when I felt Carlos pull the phone out of my hands.  
'Hello Ms Plum, I'm sorry but Stephanie is unable to come to the phone right now.' He deadpanned, all while sitting me softly on my bed and putting his arm around me. I didn't hear my mother's response but I knew that it made him angry as his arm tightened around me.  
'I don't like the implications you are making about your own daughter Ms Plum. You're very wrong and obviously don't know her at all.' Carlos continued politely, but with no emotion in his voice whatsoever. There were a few moments silence and then Carlos' voice came again,  
'No Ms Plum, she's safe here and so this is where she will stay.' I jumped as I heard her yelling down the phone and bowed my head in shame. 'I think thats enough Ma'am. Stephanie is perfectly happy and safe here with me, and I would personally appreciate it if you didn't ruin that... Why? Because I care about your daughter, she's a wonderful person. If you are the only one not to see that then that's your loss. Goodbye.' He set the phone down and pulled me tightly into his arms, hugging me and murmuring softly.  
'Sorry. I'm a bit of a wreck aren't I.' I whisper.  
'Don't apologise, your mother is stupid and that isn't your fault. She obviously is blind and can't see what an amazing person you are.' He whispers back, stroking my hair gently.  
'You always know what to say Carlos. You're too kind to me.'  
'Never too kind Babe, that's impossible.' I laugh gently and brush my tears away, straightening my back and promising myself that my mother will not ruin this for me.  
'I'm okay.' I say, more to myself than to Carlos. He squeezes me gently one last time and then pulls back, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. I smile at him as he leaves and pick up my phone one last time to call Mary-Lou, we catch up quickly, sharing gossip about people and generally laughing, she wishes me luck and tells me to stay safe and we hang up. I feel a little more positive now, because although my mother will never love me the way I would like, my amazing friends more than make up for it. I suddenly realise that although I have talked to two of my friends, there are a few others, who I'm sure are working their butts off over this, who I really should talk to. I send a quick text in the direction of Lester, Bobby, Hal and Cal and get 4 very speedy replies, all checking how I am and saying how, now that Tank is in charge the office is even more dull than usual. I chuckle at this thought, not imagining Tank has even noticed the fact that all his men are bored out of their skins. Bobby informs me that there will be a mass video conference tomorrow in the hopes I can join in and I agree readily, hoping I can finally be of use.  
I soon realise how late it is getting and wander downstairs to find where everyone is Sammy is in the living room watching TV, so I give her a hug and wish her sweet dreams, I continue on into the kitchen where Hector is sitting at the breakfast bar, reading a spanish book. I tell him goodnight too and walk upstairs, wondering where Carlos is, until I see a door ajar and light coming through it, this must be his office I presume, so I knock before entering.  
'Come on in Steph.' He calls.  
'How'd you know that was me?' I question quietly, smiling as I walk up behind him.  
'No one else would knock Babe.' He points out and I blush, 'You never have to knock, i have nothing to hide from you.' He turns in his chair and I burst out laughing, Austin Powers coming to mind. 'I don't want to know what you're laughing at do I?' He asks, raising an eyebrow and I just shake my head mutely, pressing my lips together to suppress the giggles. 'Can I help you with something?' He chuckles, reaching up and pulling me into his lap.  
'I just came to say goodnight.' I tell him, leaning my head on his shoulder.  
'Okay, night Babe. You know where I am if you need me?' He questions softly.  
'I'll be fine.' I murmur, looking guiltily at his hand which still has a bandage on it.  
'But if you're not... Please promise you'll come to me, and wake me up?' He looks at me now, silently reading me.  
'Hey, I don't want to wake you... You must be tired.'  
'If you refuse wake me up then I'll just stay awake all night just incase.' He says threateningly  
'Fine!' I sigh, rolling my eyes at him as I stand.  
'Say it.' He demands, standing with me and holding my waist.  
'Okay, okay! I promise to wake you if I need to.' I murmur, exasperated.  
'Or if you want to.' He teases playfully, smoothing a hand up and down my side.  
'Down boy!' I tease back before leaving the room, 'Night!' I call over my shoulder as I enter my room, and get changed into my stupid thin, short, silky nightdress which is all I bloody packed. I crawl into bed and curl up in the soft sheets, but the bed is huge and lonely on my own and I groan as I toss and turn to try and get comfortable. I end up in my thinking position, staring at the ceiling as I recall the day, Carlos certainly acts differently towards me now, the passion and lust is still there but a more tender side has surfaced, I can't help but wonder if I should be thanking this stalker for bringing us together. I decide to talk to him in the morning, about how his situation with the government has changed and if that has changed his situation with relationships. If I just rely on his actions I'd say yes, but I don't want to get too much hope. Also I worry that all of the tenderness is just him getting into character, playing the role... I drift off to sleep worrying that when this stalker is caught, he will just slip out of character and stop acting the way he is, stop being so... Perfect.

**Thanks again guys! Hope you liked this extra long chapter! Don't forget to review!**


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Hey guys! This chapter is much shorter than normal, so the next chapter should come a little quicker. I wanted to let you guys into James' head a little more. A few people asked why he hadn't told anyone or asked for help and I hope this enlightens you a little. When someone threatens someone you love, I know that personally, I couldn't take any chances.

Chapter 11 – Hubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble.  
James' POV (Contract worker)

As I plug the USB device into the computers in the control room I promise myself that this is the last thing, the last time I agree to this freaks demands. Its futile though, I made that promise last time and see where that got me. He had broken into my sister's home and taken random things from the girls' bedrooms, hair ribbons, toys, clothes, I couldn't risk them. The USB stick quickly transferred the virus-like thing across onto the computers , this one much stronger than the last one I installed for him. The last one had just given him access to the security cameras, this one gave him full control over everything in the control room, he might as well be sat here. The thought terrified me beyond belief, he could do what he wanted now, maybe he'd let me go then. I crushed the hope bubbling up in my chest, I didn't dare get too hopeful, he would probably want more from me. I flinched when I saw the cursor start to move around on its own, knowing he now had total control. Suddenly the screen went black and white words scrolled across it.

**YOU WILL TELL NO ONE. I WILL KNOW. I REQUIRE YOU NO LONGER. KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT.**

I opened my mouth slightly, shocked. After everything that he had done, he was just going to leave me alone now? I doubted it, I'd have to keep especially alert for a while. I knew I couldn't tell anyone, especially now he could use the camera's to watch me. New words appeared on the screen,

**DISPOSE OF THE CELL PHONE. I WANT TO HEAR NO MORE FROM YOU.**

Now that I could do, I had learnt over the past few weeks to dread the ringtone of that damn cell. I left the computer in the creeps care as it started opening programmes and exited the control room onto the main floor. As I walked along I saw the other men, guilt washed over me like a tidal wave. These men would never betray their company the way I had, they worked so hard and were so loyal. I had broken their trust and I hated myself for it. As I walked to the break room I felt a strong arm sling around my shoulders.

'Newbie!' Lester exclaimed, grinning at me. 'How are you?' I looked at him and the guilt washed over the doubly, he looked at me so fondly.

'I uh, I have to go.' I mutter to him, unable to meet his eye.

I find myself outside Tank's office, knocking on the door frowning.

'Come in.' His voice booms, scaring me slightly, but I know what I must do.

'Tank.' I start, tonelessly,

'James?' He questions me, studying my face impassively.

'I... You have to know something.' I start, taking a deep breath, ready to let it all out. Suddenly an image of my girls flashes into my mind and I groan. 'I uh, I'm resigning.' I chicken out, hating myself all the more. 'I need to be there for my sister, her kids.' At least it's the truth, even if it's not the whole truth.

'I understand.' Tank replies, and I suppress a chuckle, he has no idea.

'I'll uh, get my stuff.' I mutter, turning away to hide the guilt displayed so clearly on my features.

'Is that all?' Tank asks, standing and I panic

'Yes. I'll be going.' I reply, hurtling towards my locker, grabbing my stuff and running down the stairs, unwilling to wait for the lift. I jump in my car and speed to my sister's house, arriving quicker than I even thought possible. I hurl myself into the house to find my two beautiful niece's sat on the floor chattering away. I ran to them and picked them both up and held them close to me, tears flooding down my face. I clutched them close to me, knowing that no matter what I've had to do, it was to keep them safe. It was all worth it.

A few days later, my sister, the girls and I had packed up and were in the car driving across the country, in search of a fresh start. I pulled the car to the side of the road when I saw a huge lake, the vast expanse of water beckoned me as I exited the car. I stood at the side staring at the horizon until finally I reached into my pocket, I pulled out the cell phone and threw it with all my strength into the water, watching the ripples it created until the surface of the lake returned to its mirror-like appearance. It is at this point I felt a gentle arm around my shoulders and noticed my sister sitting down beside me. I felt two little bodies curl up next to me and I chuckled, looking down at the two little squirmy girls, snuggling together. I wrapped my arms around those who matter most in the world and sighed, feeling whole and safe once more. It really was all worth it.

**This chapter is a little different to the others, so I'm excited to hear what you all think of it. I'm not really sure if that was a happy or a sad ending for James, I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts about it. Thanks **


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Omg guys, we just reached 100 reviews! Thank you so much to those who have reviewed, it means a huge amount to me! This chapter is super late as I have been doing my A level exams recently (yay!). Another thing is... Who is on the Rangeman Core Team?! I couldn't find it anywhere online and my book collection is out of my reach for now. If I've missed someone out then I apologise! Anyway onto the next chapter...

Chapter 12  
Tank's POV  
I couldn't help but stare out of my office door, which had been left open with the new guys obvious haste to leave. He has been acting strangely and it troubled me, I'm not a great judge of character, hell I hardly notice this stuff most of the time but there had been an almost tangible amount of something in his eyes, sadness perhaps? I shook my head, refusing to spend my time worrying about new recruits who obviously couldn't handle it here, yet still it bugged me. After an hour of monotonous paperwork I found my mind drifting back to his eyes. Sadness wasn't the right emotion for them, I frowned into space, not even noticing when a knock sounded on my door.  
'Tank. I'm not waiting all day you know.' The unmistakeable voice of Lester called out,  
'What?' I called as he invited himself in and sat on the sofa opposite my desk.  
'I just wanted to tell you, the new guy was being really weird today. He's usually a good laugh but he wouldn't look at me and then he took off.'  
'He resigned.' I answered him flatly, shrugging.  
'Weird. He really wanted this job.' Lester muttered, more to himself than me.  
'Where had he been? Before you saw him?'  
'Logic dictates I wouldn't know where he had been BEFORE I saw him Tank.' Lester commented, raising an eyebrow at me tauntingly.  
'Don't bullshit. I know you know.' I reply, refusing to rise to his bait.  
'Fine, he was in the control room, I think Cal is in there now.' Lester frowned again, 'I got a weird feeling off him...'  
'I got the same when he resigned, it was strange but I didn't call him out on it.'  
I stood, deciding to check the control room, in case he saw something on the cameras that spooked him. I walked in to find Cal throwing pistachio nuts up in the air and catching them with his mouth.  
'What are you doing?' I asked, trying to keep the amusement out of my voice.  
'Oh shit! Sorry boss!' Cal replied, going bright red and staring at the floor, I heard some sort of 'nuts in mouth' predictable joke from Lester but I was too preoccupied to listen, as I scanned the room I noticed a blinking light, one of the laptops off to the side had a flash drive in it. I frowned and moved the mouse of the laptop to wake the screen up, but only a home screen came up.  
'Is the flash drive yours?' I asked Cal, frowning at him in annoyance, eating on the job was one thing but this?  
'No Boss. I never use that laptop, I didn't notice it.' I frowned again, this time at the flash drive, on the laptop I opened up its folders to find only one programme on it, I opened this and the screen instantly went black.  
'You broke it boss.' Lester commented and I turned to him, letting him see how pissed off I was.  
'Ranger doesn't hurt you because your related, that courtesy doesn't extend to me.' I glared at him and he backed off 'Get Silvio. He might know what the hell is going on.'  
As Lester left to find Silvio I watched the computer cautiously, the home screen suddenly flashed up again and I looked at Cal who shrugged. I once again opened the folders to find the flash drive was totally empty, I shook my head confusion coursing through my brain. Silvio arrived soon after and started tapping away at the keyboard, I left it as this and walked back to my office knowing they would come get me if anything were to happen. I sat at my desk to find my email inbox had an unread message, I opened it cursing technology which I would never understand.  
'Had to leave, for their safety. Madman can see you now. Do not react, if he knows he will kill us all. He is in your system, he can see your every move. I'm sorry I can't help more, good luck.'  
I struggled to maintain composure and not slam my hand down on the desk, the new guy had obviously been blackmailed somehow by this guy. He wasn't scared for his own safety, 'us' he has said... Perhaps he hadn't been lying about his sister, just not telling the whole truth, not from where the guy could see him. I couldn't blame him, but I was surprised he hadn't come to me, this is the kind of thing I deal with daily with this job. I suppose it's different when it's your own family.  
The realisation that we couldn't do or say anything in Rangeman hit me and I groaned, calling Lester on speed dial I invited him, Silvio and the 'core team' to Shorty's that lunchtime.

Lester's POV  
When I got a call off Tank about going out for lunch I knew something was up. He never let us go out and certainly wouldn't offer to pay if it wasn't important. I packed my stuff quickly and walked to Shorty's, claiming our table in the corner so we could watch the rest of the restaurant. Tank entered soon after, followed by Bobby and Silvio. They sat and the waitress soon came over, flirtatiously asking what we would like, usually I would respond similarly but the look on Tank's face told me that now was not the time for joking so we ordered a few large pizza's and got down to business.  
'We have a huge problem.' Tank started and I frowned, he was never one to be overdramatic so whatever this is couldn't be good.  
'The new guy, James, as we know he left. Now we know why. His family seem to have been threatened by Ranger's stalker, that's where the memory stick came from. It transferred something onto our system.' He said calmly, his face almost as unreadable as Ranger's blank face could be. In honesty that was the most I think I'd ever heard Tank say but I let that drop for now.  
'The pendrive caused a virus to be installed into our system. It's highly intelligent and very complex so removing it could take me days.' Silvio started and we all turned to him in surprise, I'd never known him call anything to do with technology 'complex' before, this guy must be smart. 'Until I am able to remove this virus, our stalker has full access to everything on our system, our camera's, search programmes and information. For this reason the family of Stephanie and Ranger are both going to be protected as he now has full access to all their information. Wherever Ranger is staying right now must not have it's security done by Rangeman as we would know about it, and so would he. The security on that place is much more refined and is tailored to that property, so instead of normal job's someone will have to be checking the security of their safehouse also.' I looked around to see others nodding their understanding and agreement but I was less convinced.  
'How are we going to monitor their security? If the guy is in our system we will need everything separate, including locations because he has access to the cameras and can see what we see! Where will the manpower for this come?' I would do anything for my cousin, but the core team were needed for the running of his business and we would be no use to anyone if we were exhausted from constant work.  
'I have a suggestion here. There are not many I trust anymore but there are a select few that I know we can let into this. I would say if we let Hal and Cal run the security for the house in my office. We can remove the camera's and do a bug sweep to make sure no monitoring devices are in there. We can manage the company without them quite easily.' I nodded at this, I trusted Hal and Cal too, mainly because Steph did and she can read people far better than any of us.  
'You do realise that means if anything happens in your office, we won't know. He won't but neither will we.' Tank asserted, scratching the back of his head and leaning back as the waitress arrived with our bottles of water and glasses.  
'It's a risk worth taking. They have Hector with them which is another layer of security.' Bobby replied, shrugging. We all nodded in affirmation and I felt my first spark of hope that this might end out okay. We just needed to keep Ranger, Steph and Bam's hiding place secret, even from ourselves (other than Hal and Cal) and work to find this guy before he found them. What could possibly go wrong?  
Our pizza's arrived soon after our drinks and we all dug in, after a few minutes of silence a thought popped into my head.  
'Guys, what about the new guy?' I asked, looking around for information. 'He was a nice guy, is he safe?' Tank simply nodded as he chewed his pizza so I waited for him to finish.  
'He's disappeared with his family somewhere. We will do some rudimentary searches to see if we can find him, if we can so can the stalker. If we can't then we should just leave him, I can't see that he had much choice in this. He tried to help how he could.' We all nodded again and soon the pizza dishes were left empty and our glasses dry. Tank threw down some money and we all left. 'I don't need to say this but no talking about this at Rangeman or anywhere else. He has eyes everywhere.' Tank stayed out and called Hal and Cal to meet him as we went back, returning to our work stations.

Steph's POV  
I wake up in the middle of the night with a raw throat and covered in sweat, my sheets pooled on the floor from my tossing and turning. I flinch and scream as my door opens, sure that the monster from my dreams has come to get my again. I roll out of bed in a panic and hide beneath it, as if that will do any use. I hear footsteps come towards the bed and I stifle a sob as they pause next to where I am.  
'Babe, Steph, come out.' Comes a soft voice I wasn't expecting and I move towards its source, to safety, to Ranger. A hand extends under the bed and I shrink back in fear, whimpering, sure it's going to grab me and hurt me. The hand disappears and I squeeze my eyes closed, willing myself to wake up for real. I jump when I feel the gentle breeze of someone's breath on my face, keeping my eyes closed tight. 'Steph you're safe. I won't hurt you, look at me. It's only me.' Came his whispered gentle voice, coaxing me out of the tight ball my body has shrunken into. I open one eye, and stare at him hard.  
'It's you.' I whisper, my voice breaking from my painful throat.  
'That's right, it's me.' Ranger whispered back, slowly extending a hand towards me which I grab and use to yank him close, feeling tears pouring down my face. His one hand strokes my hair softly and I snuggle in closer. 'Can we get out from under the bed now Steph? I don't really fit.' His voice finally came and I turned to him, giggling at his form being plastered to the floor in order to fit, to get to me.  
'Thank you.' I whisper, letting him retreat and then pull me out with him. The fear from my dreams is mostly gone now and I find myself relaxing against him once more. He tucks me back into my bed and sits next to me, kissing my forehead and then standing to leave. A whimper tore from my throat before I could stop it and I blushed deeply as he turned back to me. 'Please... C... Could you stay?' I finally whisper, giving in to my heart which is begging him not to leave. No reply comes and I close my eyes in embarrassment, turning my head away from the door. They flew back open when I felt the bed next to me dip as he manoeuvred himself in next to me and pulled me into him. It was at this point I noticed his state of undress, he was in his silk boxers and nothing else. Blush crept up my face once again as he laid an arm around my waist, drawing me even closer. All too soon I felt sleep taking over, the warmth, comfort and safety of his arms provided too much of a pull, even though I was enjoying being awake and feeling him hold me.  
I woke to a bright room and turned as I felt my mattress move, seeing the beautiful body of the man who had shared my bed all night rise and stand in front of the window, running a hand through his silky black hair which made me want to do the same thing. He then turned back to me and seemed surprised that I was awake.  
'Babe, you can go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you.' He whispered, moving a strand of hair from my face to behind my ear and making me smile sleepily.  
'That's okay, I feel fine.' I replied softly, snuggling further down into the covers which were still warm and smelt of him. He chuckled and walked to the bathroom, I heard the shower turn on and sighed happily. Turning to see the alarm clock and feeling surprised that it read 7:32. That was a major lie-in for Mr Wake-Up-Stupidly-Early-Every-Day. All too soon I heard the shower shut off and realised that meant I should probably get up too. A very sexy Ranger clad in only a towel opened the door to me, winked and walked through the other door in the bathroom to his bedroom.  
I wandered into the bathroom, stretching as I went and made sure to lock both doors. I quickly removed my pyjamas and stepped into the shower, pressing the green button I assumed meant to 'turn on'. I was correct and the water sprayed over me, freezing cold. I yelped and jumped backwards, out of range of the icy water and stared at the shower unit, twisting one of the buttons soon warmed up the water and in no time I had the room steamed up as I slowly washed, enjoying the smell of the Bvlgari shower gel. Partway through the shower a thought hit me, Ranger had showered before me, had he turned it down to cold as a prank? Or had he really had to have a cold shower after spending the night in my bed? I blushed to myself and finished quickly, twirling my hair around my fingers into curls and applying minimal makeup meant I felt ready for the day. I went into Ranger's room, remembering his huge closet full of clothes and was sifting through when I felt him enter behind me.  
'Hey Babe, we are going to call Bobby in a few minutes if you're interested.' He said quietly, turning to leave again, he was almost out of the room when he tossed over his shoulder, 'Oh and while you're up here, wake Sammy for me would you?' and he scampered off. I scowled in annoyance as he obviously knew she wouldn't be fun to wake. I settled on some faded blue jeans and a white tank top and wandered into Sammy's room. She was sprawled out in the middle of her bed sleeping soundly and it almost seemed like a shame to wake her. However I knew that the call would be happening anytime now so I had no time to spare. After calling her name and shaking her a few times I realised why Ranger didn't want this job, she slept like a rock. In the end I stole the pillow out from under her head and hit her with it until she came to.  
'...Wha?' She moaned, trying to turn over and return to sleep.  
'Get up!' I told her, hitting her again with the pillow till she turned back over.  
'Fine! Okay! I'm up! Jeez!' She stood and stumbled towards the door leaving me stood holding a pillow looking bemused. I shrugged and walked downstairs to the kitchen where Hector and Ranger sat at the breakfast bar, the phone on loudspeaker sat in-between them.  
'Steph's just arrived.' Ranger informed Bobby and I heard his distinct chuckle.  
'Hey there Steph. You alright?' He asked, his voice soft and I realised Ranger had probably told him about last night, I looked at Ranger hard but he didn't meet my eyes, preferring to watch the phone instead.  
'I'm fine, better now.' I replied, walking to the fridge to find breakfast.  
'Ok good.' Came Bobby's reply and I smiled inwardly that he knew not to push it with me. 'Anyway guys I have an update on the situation. The stalker has hacked our system, he manipulated one of the new guys with threats to the family. The new guy managed to tip us off and he's now gone off the grid with his family. We don't plan to try to track him down unless necessary.' He paused to see if anyone had anything to say, but as he was met with silence he continued. 'Obviously this means Rangeman can't handle the security of your property, so we have assigned Hal and Cal to keeping you guys safe.' I looked up and smiled at this, I have always been fond of those two and trusted them with my life. Ranger caught my eye and smiled softly, making me lose focus for a second.  
'...so I just wanted to go over what we know so far about this guy.' I tuned back in to Bobby and sat down, a yoghurt and spoon in my hand that I didn't remember picking up.  
'I'm going to make the assumption he's from your past Ranger, the note talks about things you have done so he's on some sort of vengeance mission. He also talks about families being torn apart, so maybe a relative of someone...' Bobby trailed off awkwardly. I suddenly noticed that both Ranger and Hector were watching me, waiting for a reaction.  
'That would make sense, so we need to think back and find all the male relatives of the people from your past Ranger. That shouldn't be too hard.' I said, looking up to see Hector taking the phone into the living room with him as Ranger came to stand next to me. He pulled me from my seat and took my hands.  
'Babe I don't think you understand... There's a lot of people that... And I don't exactly know names...' He spoke with sadness in his voice and I could see the worry in his eyes, he obviously hadn't followed my train of thought.  
'Ranger I know about your past, don't look at me like that, I'm not going to burst into tears or run away. What I mean is that the people who sent you out on missions surely had to write up some sort of reports afterwards. I would assume that on those there would be names or at the very least descriptions.' I frowned, my mind moving at a million miles per minute. 'We could put those names into our search programmes to find who has living male relatives and narrow it down from there. There may well be lots of names but it's not like we have much to do here.' I looked at him smiling, hoping he understood now.  
'You're amazing Babe.' He whispered, kissing me on the forehead and making me smile.  
'I know.' I replied, turning back to my yoghurt with a wink.

**So guys, this isn't my best work and I'm not totally happy with it but I've been rather distracted with exams so I'm afraid this is all I'm capable of at the moment... Don't forget to review **


	13. Chapter 13

A/N Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the amazing reviews they mean a lot to me! Also thank you to masterb2 for the idea for the start of the chapter! (Ranger's POV of the night) Pure genius!

Chapter  
13  
Ranger's  
POV

I had been in bed for hours but I couldn't seem to fall asleep, I knew sitting up  
worrying wouldn't solve anything but that didn't stop me from giving it a go.  
So far we literally had nothing on this guy and it made me so angry that he  
could evade us. My thoughts turned dark, I hated failing, especially in  
something where my Babe was concerned. I stood up with a groan and stared out  
of the window, willing the beautiful views to give me the answers I needed. I'm  
not sure how long I stood staring out at the darkness when I was torn from my  
thoughts by a terrified scream. Panic ran through me as I threw the bathroom  
door open, he couldn't be here, there was no way for him to have found us...  
Was there? I ran into Steph's bedroom, gun in hand and scanned the room, when I  
found it empty except for her I returned to my room to stow the gun, not  
wanting to scare her. These nightmares seemed so intense, it scared and angered  
me just to see her going through such horror.

I returned to her room to find her gone from her bed, and a quiet whimpering  
sounding from beneath it, my forehead creased I crouched down to try and get to  
her.

'Babe, Steph, come out.' I whispered, trying my best to sound soothing. I soon heard  
her body shifting towards me so I extended my arm to her, to help. I realised  
this was a mistake when I heard a terrified whimper as she scrambled back under  
the bed. No fast movements I told myself, frowning at my own stupidity, then  
again I never really seemed to be able to think straight around my Babe. I  
sighed as I manoeuvred myself onto the ground, staring hard at the gap between  
the bed and the floor, willing it to become larger, but no such luck. I got as  
much of my upper body under the bed as possible, not caring at how stupid I looked  
as all I could think about was getting to Steph, I couldn't help but sigh with  
relief when I finally wedged myself in far enough to see her face. It was screwed  
up in concentration, much like her body which was curled up in a foetal  
position.

'Steph you're safe. I won't hurt you, look at me. It's only me.' I found myself whispering, careful not to sound too harsh or move too quickly, I watched her face as it slowly relaxed and after what seemed like hours her beautiful blue eyes popped open.

'It's you.' Came a ragged response which almost made me flinch, she sounded in such a lot of pain that it ripped through me more than any physical wound could. I tried to remind myself to be calm and reassuring so I replied in the gentlest tone of voice I could.

'That's right, it's me.' Was all I could come up with, genius right? I almost rolled my eyes at myself, but I noticed her relaxing so I slowly moved my hand towards her, as if towards a frightened animal. To my relief she immediately grabbed the hand and pulled herself in close to my chest, sighing softly which caused me to sigh in turn. Dios, if my men knew I sighed they'd never let me live it down. The things this woman does to me. After a few minutes when she really seemed to have relaxed I finally asked,

'Can we get out from under the bed now Steph? I don't really fit.'

Her body quickly twisted around to get a better view of me, and a giggle was torn from her, a smile gracing her features.

'Thank you.' Was her only response, which I assumed meant I could so I pulled myself backwards and pulled her out after me. She seemed much calmer now, I let her get back into her bed and pulled the covers up around her, smoothing them out. I quickly stopped this, however, when I started to smooth out one section and my hands started massaging her calf without my permission. I instead occupied myself with tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and kissing her on the head, wanting her to know that I was there for her. Although my body was disagreeing I rose to leave, thinking she would probably want to be alone right now. She probably wouldn't want me invading her space, I froze when I heard her whimper, terrified I had hurt her in some way. I turned to face her, and realised it was so dark she probably could hardly see me, I opened my mouth to reassure her that it was only me but her words cut me off.

Please... C... Could you stay?' Her words made me grin more than I care to say, my heart soared when I realised that she truly wanted me to stay, to keep her safe. Once again I opened my mouth to speak, which was still grinning but no words came, I could hardly start gushing to her about how happy I was that she seemed to need me, she'd wonder who I was. I took a deep breath and blew it out again slowly, trying to calm myself down. Her head then flopped down onto the pillow and I realised I was wasting precious time, she was obviously tired so I just climbed into the bed next to her, trying not to lift the sheets too high and make her cold. Her form immediately moulded to me and I had to hold back a groan as I felt her soft luscious skin against my own. I knew I had to hold her closer, so I pulled her in as gently as I could, hoping she would find the gesture comforting. I closed my eyes as I felt her body start to relax and her breathing become even, her hair smelt of peaches and strawberries which only made me nuzzle in further. Dios, nuzzle is such a manly word, I thank everything I have that this isn't being projected into the control room. Steph's skin is so delicate, I found myself thinking, it's so pale and beautiful, like rose petals. I couldn't help but touch her, tracing patterns across her back and sides which I hoped were making her feel comforted and not freaked out.

She shifted in my arms and I tensed, worrying I had woken her up but instead she sighed and moaned slightly, moving further backward and closer to me, which I hadn't even realised was possible. I was now acutely aware of the fact that her incredible shapely ass was snuggled in tightly to my crotch, I groaned and hit my head off the pillow. Now is not the time to be thinking like this! Pull yourself together! I told myself sternly, but the sleeping Steph was not helping by wriggling around and making little satisfied purring noises. I blew out another breath and realised that I might not be getting much in the way of sleep that night. I resumed tracing patterns on her hip until finally she seemed to fall into a deep enough sleep that she stopped squirming, sleep took me soon after that.

I was woken by light streaming through the window and was absolutely shocked that I had slept in, I was about to leap out of bed when I felt Steph shift and once again her body was tightly moulded to mine. I frowned as I tried to extract myself from her gorgeous and warm body but sleeping Steph decided she was having none of that and snuggled in all the tighter, making quiet discontented noises. I decided to allow myself five minutes before I had to get up, but they quickly turned into five minutes of torture as sleeping Steph is also somewhat of a sex kitten as she seemed to grind her hips into me. More than once I had to check if she was actually asleep, but her gentle breathing pattern showed she was. My five minutes were soon up and I managed to slowly pull myself away from my Babe, feeling bad about the frustrated noises she made but still. I went to walk past the window but quickly paused to admire the beauty outside. The day was already turning out to be lovely, the sky totally blue and the sun was set to be blazing hot, I ran a hand through my hair as I contemplated what to do that day. I was about to leave the room, but I couldn't help but turn back to take another look at Steph's sleeping form, except she wasn't sleeping. Her eyes were half closed and clouded with tiredness and I wondered if I had woken her.

'Babe, you can go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you.' I whispered to her, kneeling on the edge of the bed to stroke her face. She smiled at me and I realised she was about to fall straight back to sleep so straightened to leave.

'That's okay, I feel fine.' She replied, but her body betrayed her as she snuggled down into the bed and inhaled deeply. I wondered if she found my scent as intoxicating as I found hers. I chuckled at her as she burrowed further into the sheets and went into the adjoining bathroom to shower. I undressed and stepped into the shower, realising that my morning problem had not been helped by Steph's luscious body pressing up against mine, so I quickly set the temperature gauge to as cold as it would go, trying to eradicate all thoughts of her beautiful curves as I scrubbed at my skin quickly. I wrapped myself in a towel and opened the door to my Babe's room, smiling as I found her waking up a little more, I winked at her in a 'We-both-know-you-need-to-get-out-of-bed' way and left to go to my room to change. I went and sat in my room, combing my hair and didn't bother to suppress a chuckle as I heard the lock between my room and the bathroom click. Horror crossed my features as I heard the shower turn on and I realised I hadn't reset the temperature. How chivalrous am I? Well if nothing else it woke my Babe up. I dressed quickly and left to find Hector, knowing he would have been up for hours now. I found him in his room, his hair also wet from a shower. I missed a work out today, I realised with surprise, I never miss work outs. Well I guess I had a good enough reason this once.

'Are you ready for a call with Bobby soon?' I asked, I had been trying to encourage him to speak English as much as possible around Steph, I didn't want her to feel left out.

'Si.' He replied, stubborn man.

I looked in on Sammy and was not in the least surprised to find her sprawled out in bed, fast asleep and for all intents and purposes, dead to the world. Waking Sammy was a punishment when I was younger, it could take ages and sometimes resulted in her attacking you for interrupting a dream she was enjoying. I remembered acquiring a black eye once because she had been dreaming that she was rich and I had woken her. I had only managed to calm her down my promising her I would become rich at some point. Well, at least I kept my promise. An evil thought popped into my head, Sammy wouldn't attack and/or threaten to murder Steph... Well that's one decision made! I returned to my room to grab my watch and noticed that she was in the wardrobe, perusing the racks of clothes.

'Hey Babe, we are going to call Bobby in a few minutes if you're interested.' I told her quietly, knowing that she would hate it if she missed out on that. When I was almost at the door I turned my head and called, 'Oh and while you're up here, wake Sammy for me would you?' and practically ran away. Cowardice? Never! Survival? Definitely!

I walked downstairs to find Hector preparing himself some granola so I joined him, my phone soon buzzed to show an incoming call and I walked into the living room to talk with Bobby.

'Yo.' Well, I have to be a little predictable don't I?

'Hey Ranger,' Bobby replied easily, 'How's everything going?'

'Well Sammy seems to be dealing with things really well, she and Hector seem to get on so that's good.' I started, setting my granola down onto the arm of a chair and settling myself in it.

'But...' Bobby questioned, knowing that I hadn't mentioned my Babe yet.

'She's had another nightmare, this one was so bad I found her hiding under her bed. She was terrified.'

'Please don't tell me you left her there man. I know things are complicated between you two but...'

'Are you stupid? Of course I didn't!' I fumed silently, my men had no faith in me when it came to relationship stuff. 'I stayed with her the rest of the night and she seemed to sleep easier after that.' I informed him, quietly hoping it was because I was there.

'Okay well, maybe if you give her the option of coming to you if she gets scared... That might make her feel more secure.'

'I have.' I replied shortly, wishing my men would stay the hell away from my private life. 'So I shouldn't be concerned?'

'I don't think so, severe nightmares are often how trauma affects people. However if they get worse, if she's a danger to herself, then call me. I could give her some medication to help her get to sleep.' As if I'd let her hurt herself.  
I returned to the kitchen with my breakfast still untouched and seated myself at the breakfast bar, putting to phone on loudspeaker and situating it between myself and Hector. My Babe came down soon after, which I informed Bobby of. The childish part of me was avoiding eye contact, in case she was pissed with me for leaving her with the chore of waking up my sister but she seemed alright. Bobby gave a quick report on what was going on at Rangeman, but I could hardly concentrate, I accidentally caught Steph's eye and her face reddened, I smiled at that, I loved that I could effect her like that. At my grin her eyes seemed to glaze over a bit and I realised I really should be listening to what Bobby was saying because currently, Hector was the only listener and his grasp of English was still not perfect.

'I'm going to make the assumption he's from your past Ranger, the note talks about things you have done so he's on some sort of vengeance mission. He also talks about families being torn apart, so maybe a relative of someone...' I flinched immediately, just as I was making progress with Steph, she had to be reminded of my terrible, disgusting past. I found myself glancing at her nervously, but was surprised by her reaction.

'That would make sense, so we need to think back and find all the male relatives of the people from your past Ranger. That shouldn't be too hard.' Her bright response came, unease spread through me like wildfire. I motioned for Hector to continue talking to Bobby and I walked to Steph, trying not to put on what she called my 'blank face'.

'Babe I don't think you understand...' I started, flinching again at how nervous and edgy my voice sounded, I was just so terrified of scaring her away. Her bright happy eyes looked at me and I hated myself all the more. 'There's a lot of people that...' I continued, but broke off again, looking down at the floor to muster courage. 'And I don't exactly know names...' I felt thoroughly miserable as I spoke, and was terrified when she interrupted me. Expecting her to tell me to stay away from her, my eyebrows lifted clean off my face at her next words.

'Ranger I know about your past, don't look at me like that, I'm not going to burst into tears or run away. What I mean is that the people who sent you out on missions surely had to write up some sort of reports afterwards. I would assume that on those there would be names or at the very least descriptions.' I suddenly realised I was holding her hands... When did that happen?

'We could put those names into our search programmes to find who has living male relatives and narrow it down from there. There may well be lots of names but it's not like we have much to do here.' She looked at me with such hope, obviously wondering if that was a good idea, wanting validation.

'You're amazing Babe.' I whispered, kissing her on the forehead to hide the way my eyes had watered at her acceptance of me.

'I know.' Came her cocky response as she turned back to the toffee yoghurt/unhealthiest-thing-in-the-kitchen-for-breakfast. My next words escaped me before I realised I had spoken them,

'I don't know how you can accept me so easily.' I muttered, running a hand through my hair. She spun around and grabbed my shoulders, looking stern.

'You listen here Rang... Carlos!' She started, sounding slightly pissed off. 'There is nothing TO accept! You are who you are and I wouldn't change that for the world! Your past may not be something you are proud of but it's a part of you and cannot be changed so stop worrying! You're perfect as you are.' I grinned at her then, before pulling her into a tight hug which lifted her from the floor.

'You never fail to surprise me.' I told her, gently setting her down on her feet and kissing her forehead, the tip of her nose and then pecking her lips swiftly. I felt her body melt into mine and it became even harder to keep from ravishing her there and then. Steph smiled faintly and walked back to her chair where she continued to eat her yoghurt, not realising that she had dropped half of it down her top in distraction. I smirked at that.

As I walked out of the doors which led from the kitchen outside I couldn't help but be struck by Steph's kindness once again. No one had ever been so welcoming and non-judgemental as Steph, she was so loving and open and it struck me to the core. Thinking about her made my heart beat faster and swell with happiness, she really did accept me. All of me. That's a hard thing to do.

About 5 minutes later I heard trudging footsteps walking down the stairs and couldn't help but chuckle at Sammy's sunny morning disposition, my baby sister really hadn't changed. She stomped into the kitchen, sniffed disdainfully at my breakfast, then her eyes practically lit up at the sight of Steph's yoghurt.  
'Is there any more of that' came her grumbling question,  
'Yeah, in the fridge.' I answered, walking over to grab her one.  
'Don't even talk to me brother.' She growled, making me raise an eyebrow. 'You totally hung Steph out to dry. Leaving her to wake me up.' I chuckled and ruffled her already messy hair.  
'Baby I'm not getting an injury if I can help it.' She rolled her eyes at me and I turned away to hide my amusement. I'd missed her more than I realised.

As soon as everyone has finished breakfast, I walked up to my office to start off the search for any male relatives of people from my past. Hector followed me up and stood silently in the doorway as I typed, occasionally pointing out something I had missed as I typed a quick report to Tank. After I finished I turned to Hector and asked,

'¿Dónde están las chicas?' (Where are the girls) He chuckled and motioned towards the window so I stood to look out, Steph and Sammy were playing in the pool with a huge beach ball. Despite myself I started to laugh as my little sister trounced Steph and threw it into their makeshift hoop over and over. I turned to speak to Hector again to find him gone, so I walked through to my bedroom and onto the balcony for a better view. The ball had rolled too far away from the pool and The girls were both too lazy to get out, so they were just floating around chatting happily. No one could bring a smile to my face quite like my Babe, and seeing her getting on so well with my family warmed my heart in a way I was unused to. There was a shriek that brought me back to my senses and I chuckled, Steph had fallen off her lilo and dragged Sammy into the water, they resurfaced laughing and by chance, Steph looked up and caught my eyes with her own. Against the blue water they looked even more brilliant, which I didn't even think was possible, her pale skin was getting a slightly sunned glow but definitely not tanning, probably due to all of the sunscreen she seemed to smother onto herself. Her hair, which was soaked through was still in its beautiful curls which I wanted to run my fingers through constantly. The warmth in my heart spread through my body as I stared at her, unnerving me slightly as I had never felt anything like this before. I frowned, wondering what on earth was happening to me, I didn't even have the strength to break eye contact with her, so I just stared with enough intensity it would probably make anyone else run in terror. Then the moment was over, she broke eye contact and looked away, checking on Sammy who had gone suspiciously quiet as she lounged in her lilo watching us. I walked back inside and sat on the edge of my bed, confusion ruling in my brain. My whole body was on fire, tingling and yearning, yearning for Steph. Suddenly I couldn't stand another moment away from her and I ran down the stairs with more urgency than I had ever felt. To my surprise I met my babe before I reached the pool, she had gotten out and was standing in the kitchen in a towel looking slightly dazed. I closed the small gap between us in a final few steps and pulled her into my arms, kissing her with a hunger I had never previously felt, she whimpered into my mouth and responded with equal vigor and I knew then that she had felt whatever I had.

'Steph...' I panted, trying to collect my thoughts as I held her flush against my body.

'Carlos...I...' She whispered but I cut her off, feeling terror pass through me as I realised what I was about to say

'Steph... I love you.' I whispered, feelings rushing through me too fast to register. 'I... I really love you...' Suddenly her lips were on mine and I groaned, pushed her against the wall and kissed her for all I was worth. When she finally broke the kiss to breathe she was panting and there was a light sheen of sweat on her brow.

'Carlos, I love you too. I love you so much, I think I always have.' She whispered, staring into my eyes with such happiness.

'I just... I have too, always. I didn't realise it till now. Dios, I don't deserve you... But if you feel the same way I...' I was cut off by a desperate kiss which made my whole body tingle, like electricity was racing around me. Never breaking the kiss I scooped Steph up in my arms and carried her up the stairs and threw her onto my bed, making her giggle. I crawled up the bed after her, kissing my way up her body until I finally reached her mouth to renew my attack on it. I felt her hands bury themselves in my hair, her nails slightly scratching my scalp making me growl, the things this girl can do to me... In return I buried my hands into her slightly damp curls and used them to pull her head back slightly, leaving her neck vulnerable to me.

Steph's POV  
As soon as Carlos said those three magic words I pretty much lost control of myself, I'd waited and hoped for those words for so long that I basically attacked him as he said them. He responded in kind and soon I found myself lieing on his bed and whimpering under his touch. His magical hands and mouth having their way with me and I couldn't have stopped to save my life. After a little while I realised that, while he was having his way with me,I had no way to return the favour. This annoyed me a little as I wanted him to be feeling the ecstasy that I was. I growled slightly, emulating him and threw my whole body weight to one side, rolling us both over so that I was atop him. He cocked his head to one side on the pillow which looked so cute, and I couldn't resist him anymore. I didn't last long on top, very soon I was rolled back over and he was once more in control, but it had been nice he had allowed me my time to control him. At first we set a fast, almost frenzied pace as we craved each other's bodies, each other's touch. However after a while our furious lovemaking abated and in its place came gentle, soft, slow touches as we worshipped each other's bodies with such tenderness and care I felt I would burst from happiness. At our final climax we had called out each other's names and words of love before the blackness overtook me.  
I woke hours later totally exhausted, quite sore but thoroughly satisfied and more importantly, feeling thoroughly loved. Carlos lay next to me, I could tell he was awake as he was playing with my hair, absentmindedly twirling it around his finger. I turned to him and snuggled in close, never wanting to have to move from this perfect spot.

'Sleeping beauty has awoken.' Carlos whispered, snuggling closer to me and kissing me lovingly, 'How do you feel... You don't hurt anywhere do you? I lost my head a bit.' There was worry in his eyes which made me smile, he really cares I found myself thinking. 'Hearing you say that...' This made me giggle, blushing, but unable to lose eye contact with those chocolate brown eyes, so full of love.

'I'm not hurt. I'm fine... Better than fine actually.' I replied, framing his gorgeous face with my hands and stroking his hair softly. He chuckled and drew me closer, I sighed softly and snuggled my head in closer to him. We kissed softly and I felt tears suddenly running down my cheeks. Carlos quickly drew back, looking at me with concern.

'Babe?' He whispered

'I'm happy. I'm so so happy. God I love you Carlos.' I replied, tears streaming down my face as he held me close.

'I'll never let you go again Babe. You're mine now. I love you.'

**So ladies and gentleman, that's the end to another chapter. I was a bit nervous to write anything graphic, but if you guys really disagree let me know in your reviews and I'll try and work on it! As always your reviews are ever so much appreciated. And while I refuse to hold chapters until I reach a certain amount of reviews, I guess they help me to write quicker so please let me know what you think. **** thankyouthankyouthankyou **


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